Inner Darkness
by Dr Ninja Monkey
Summary: Irelia is the pinnacle of Ionian balance, but what will she do when she falls for someone who is the exact opposite of everything she has learned? What will she do when she figures out that Syndra's best friend is public enemy number one? Further yet when she has to help him? Syndra X Irelia, rated M for potential future lemons, and some violence
1. Confrontation

A/N: I don't own any of these characters, they are all owned by Riot Games

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><p>Syndra stood in the middle of the temples training room, two dark spheres on the ground next to her. The room was well lit with torches lining the stone walls, and in front of Syndra was two magical dummies that she was using to practice her magic. Aside from the torches, Syndra and the magical dummies the room was empty.<p>

Syndra willed another dark sphere into existence, but as she watched the sphere form one of the two she had summoned earlier faded in its place. With that failing she decided to try again, but with the same result. Syndra decided to take a different approach this time, this time she summoned two spheres at once, at first she thought she succeed in maintaining three dark spheres but when she tried to find either of the two original spheres they were gone.

Syndra was starting to get fed up with her seeming lack of progress, she had been at it for three hours now pushing herself to her limit trying to improve. No matter how hard she tried it seemed like her training wasn't making her magic any stronger nor did it feel like her pool of magical energy was getting any larger like it had during her youth. Syndra had learned a lot since she came to the temple several years ago; but while her body had grown it felt like her magic had barely changed at all since she was a child. This is what frustrated Syndra the most, she was putting in hours of effort every day but there didn't seem to be any signs she was getting better.

Syndra sat down next to the wall to slightly dizzy from using too much of her magic at once. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs curling into a ball as she stared off into the space. She was starting to wonder if it was worth leaving her family behind and coming to the temple. When she was a child the offer of being taught magic by an elder had seemed unreal to her, but something about it now just felt wrong…

Syndra shook her head clearing her thoughts, _I can't change the past now so I shouldn't worry about it_. She decided that she would go ask her mentor, who she called the old man against his protest, about why she felt her magic ceased to grow hoping he would have some insight.

Syndra decided to check the library first, she had a hunch that the old man would be there. He tended to spend most of his time there when he wasn't teaching Syndra, or practicing his own magic. The library was fairly impressive considering that only Syndra and the old man lived in the temple. It was two stories tall and had bookshelves lining the outside of both floors with staircases in the back of both corners connecting the first floor to the second.

The middle right side of the first floor was an open area with two large book covered tables pushed together that were each a little larger than Syndra if she had laid down on them. On the other side was a set large comfy chairs, if you cleared out the massive piles of books that was around the chair then you would find a coffee table underneath it somewhere. It didn't take long for Syndra to find the old man reading in one of the chairs.

As Syndra approached the old man he peered up at her and in a kind voice said, "Good evening Syndra, what can I help you with?" The old man wore simple white Ionian robes, his medium length grey hair was tied back into a ponytail.

Syndra plopped herself down in a chair across from the old man and rest her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Why do I feel like I am not getting any stronger? I have learned a lot since I got here, but my magic feels no different than when I arrived."

The old man man's face turned from one of sincere curiosity into one of concern as it looked like he contemplated something, a few seconds later he finally responded.

"You are probably old enough to hear this now," the old man paused for a few seconds before continuing, "when we decided to bring you here the elders suspected that your powers were too dangerous to leave alone, that is why I put spell on you to dampen your magic."

After hearing this Syndra straightened in the chair, a look of shock crossing her face, "you did what, and when did you plan on lifting the spell, or better yet even let me know you put it on me in the first place!"

"Syndra don't be irrational, you must learn balance and restraint first. If we left you at home with your family you may never have learned this on your own that, you would have been a threat to the safety of all of Ionia that is why we took you away from your village, so we could teach and guide you."

Syndra's heart sunk, a mixture of anger, sadness, and betrayal grew in her stomach as she heard this, she had grown to trust the old man over these last few years. "I was only a child when you took me away, you didn't even give me a chance to prove myself! What gave you the right to decide that taking me away from my family was the right decision?" As Syndra said this she stood up knocking her chair back and she swung her hand across her body and sent a pile of books flying across the room with her magic.

"I'm sorry Syndra this wasn't a risk we were willing to take, I was going to teach you for a few years and see how you progressed. Syndra I am sorry, but I did this for your -"

"No!" Syndra cut him off having heard enough, "You had no right to seal my magic away from me. I demand you lift this accursed spell from me this instant." As Syndra said this accidentally let out a pulse of magic and sent several more objects flying.

The old man got up his facial expression had a tinge of fear mixed in now, "If you don't calm down I am going to have to seal your powers away for good. Please Syndra, I don't want to do this but I will if I must."

"You wouldn't dare" Syndra said defensively but still not backing down, she couldn't give in now after learning what he had done to her. Syndra's magic has been her main source of happiness over the last few years, and she couldn't let anyone take that happiness away it didn't feel right to her. If that magic was taken away then all of the training and sacrifices she had made up to this point would have been for nothing. She lost her village and home because of her magic, and Syndra was not about to let that go to waste, she loved her magic too much for that.

"I can't drop it, not after learning this. My power is mine and mine alone, I have given up too much between time and my family to let it go that easily." Syndra said with conviction, voicing her thoughts.

The old man let out long disappointed sigh, "Syndra you leave me no choice." His voice tinged with sadness. Then the old man channeled a short spell fired it at Syndra hitting square in the center of her chest.

As Syndra was hit by the spell she let out a bone chilling scream as she fell to the floor on her hands and knees. Never before in her life had she felt more pain then she had now as all her remaining magic was being forcefully pulled from her body. In a last ditch effort to save her magic Syndra summoned a small dark sphere and with all her might she used her remaining magic to send it flying at the old man. After that she collapsed on the ground, had she been looking she would have seen as the sphere hit home and sent the old man flying into the library wall, his head jerking backwards from the force of the impact and colliding with the wall.

Syndra could feel her magic slowly returning now that the spell wasn't draining her magic anymore. After a little bit when Syndra worked up enough energy to move again, she looked up at where her master lay limply up against the wall. Syndra's eye's widened in horror as the realization of what she had done hit home.

_I…killed him…after all he's done for me over the years. _Syndra thought as she curled up into a ball as her eyes became wet with tears.

**No, he was weak and trying to hold you back. He never cared for you, all he wanted to do was take away your gift, which is why he tried to seal your powers.** Syndra argued with herself internally, conflicted about how to feel about the situation.

_That's a lie, all he ever wanted to do was help me, and I repaid him by killing him. _Syndra thought as she shifted uncomfortably on the floor. Unsure about how to feel about everything that had transpired and whether or not she reacted properly.

**If that was true then why did he dampen your power all those years ago, why did try and hide it from you! On top of that if he cared so much for you, **the voice in her said the last part mockingly, **then why did he attack you and try to seal away your powers forever?**

Her inners voice words stung, but Syndra didn't have an answer to attempt to justify her mentor's actions, making the words even more powerful. Admitting defeat to herself, she decided to get up off the cold floor and brush the dust off her body. The sadness was still there but it was easier to ignore now as a feeling of ecstasy filled her body as the excess magical power that had been sealed away all these years once again fully flowed through her veins.

Looking over at the corpse of her former master, Syndra brought her hand up to her mouth as she almost gagged.

_I suppose I should at least bury him_, she thought. Syndra used her magic to pick up his body and carry him outside a decent ways into the forest before she found someplace she thought befitting of a burial. It wasn't much but the area was open around where the grave would be, the scenery, flowers, and tree's nearby had a calming effect. Syndra used her magic to blow open a section of the ground to create the grave, and gently set her former mentor down into the earth with tears in her eyes. It wasn't anything special but at least it was a grave, she at least owed the old man that for raising her over the past few years even if she still wasn't sure how to feel about everything that had just happened.

After this Syndra returned to her temple, deciding that she wanted to redecorate to distract herself.


	2. The Jade Dragon

**Three years later. . .**

Irelia walked through the Serene Garden in the Placidium toward the Jade Dragon, a tea shop that Karma wanted Irelia to meet her at. She wore her captain's uniform as usual, the red and white armor shining brightly under the glow of the sun. Her mantle of decorum, Ionia's highest honor, was floating behind her midnight blue hair that was blowing in the wind.

The Serene Garden was home to most of Ionia's events, and if you didn't know your way around it would be easy to get lost among the trees, the variety of flowers, shrines, and various alcoves that provided a decent amount of privacy. Like most of the Placidium it was expertly maintained, and most Ionians knew their way around the gardens from festivals so it wasn't often people got lost. The gentle breeze, beautiful scenery, and sweet aroma from the flowers relaxed Irelia, melting away all the stress from her day. Irelia made a mental note to herself to come back later and find a good place to meditate in private. Fall was quickly approaching and in a few weeks it would be too cold to meditate outside.

After a few minutes of walking Irelia arrived at the tea shop. While it wasn't particularly big it was still larger than your average tea shop due to its private rooms in the back. The private rooms, along with their tea, were what made the shop a popular meeting place for officials. As Irelia walked inside she was greeted by a waitress dressed in a simple black and white Ionian dress. The dress went from her knees up to her shoulders where it met her black hair. As Irelia approached the counter, the woman gave a small bow and greeted her.

"Greetings Captain Lito, we have been expecting you, please follow me."

Irelia followed the waitress as she led her passed a few rows of dark wooden tables towards a line of rooms in the back. Their entrances were covered by hanging black curtains that went down to Irelia's knees. The waitress held the curtains open for Irelia and left shortly after she entered the room. As Irelia entered the room she noticed that while the curtains were dark on the outside, providing little vision into the room, on the inside she could easily see out of them into the tea shop from the other side.

Irelia gave Karma a bow as she entered the room, a common Ionian courtesy, before being welcomed by Karma.

"Greetings Irelia, it is nice to see you. I hope you don't mind, I ordered tea already." Karma's voice was soothing as she gestured towards the tea kettle in the middle of the table.

Karma wore a purple dress that went up to her neck but skipping over her shoulders with a white shirt overtop of her mid-section that covered her stomach and the sides of her waist while her mantle of decorum gently floated behind her. Whereas Irelia's mantle was militaristic, Karma's was two jade dragons in a circle which was the symbol of Ionia. Like a lot of southern Ionians Karma's skin was bronze, opposite of Irelia who was fairly pale.

Irelia waved a hand dismissively as she took a seat, "Not at all, I'm glad you did, I rather like your taste in tea." Irelia responded, before filling her cup with tea.

"I'm sorry for calling you here so abruptly, but I need your help dealing with some issues in the southern provinces."

Irelia knew what Karma was talking about without even asking. A few months ago she helped take back the southern provinces that Noxus had claimed when invading Ionia. While they were able to drive out the majority of the Noxian army, there was still some groups of soldiers leftover who formed mercenary bands in the mountains and surrounding forests. They survived through robbing small trading caravans, travelers, and terrorizing local villages.

Karma continued, "Recently I have been in communication with an ex-Noxian who is interested in helping us deal with these mercenaries."

Irelia's face was a mixture of skepticism and confusion, before she could respond Karma reached into her robe, pulled out a letter, and slid it over to Irelia. She stared at it for a few moments before opening it up. The handwriting was barely legible, and Irelia ended up reading over it multiple times to make sure that she read it correctly.

The letter was from an ex-member of the Noxian military interested in staying in Ionia as a way of hiding from Noxus and their assassins. Irelia didn't know too much about Noxus, but she did know that they didn't take kindly to deserters, so it made sense they would want a safe haven from Noxus. In exchange for their protection, they were willing to give Ionia information about the mercenaries and help wipe them out. While Irelia realized that they didn't have much choice, considering they were having issues wiping the mercenaries out, she still didn't like it.

"How do we know we can trust this Noxian, that they aren't leading us into an ambush or that we aren't being used to further their own goals?" Irelia commented with skepticism.

Karma let out a sigh and responded, "We don't, frankly I don't like it much more than you do. However our people are suffering out there, and if there is even a shred of hope that this will work we owe it to them to at least try."

Irelia crossed her arms thinking, _Karma has a point, I don't like it but we can't stand idly by as our people suffer. We would need a small party to avoid drawing suspicion, especially since we would be heading by The Dark Sovereign's fortress. She has been keeping to herself, but that may change if she sees another army and think we are attacking her again. After the last time the military attacked her four months ago, she ripped the temple out of the ground and turned it into a floating fortress. _ After a bit of pondering Irelia sighed and finally responded.

"Alright, how do we get ahold of this Noxian?"

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><p>Syndra sat letting her legs dangle off the edge of her floating fortress as she watched the sun disappear over the horizon. She was wearing her pajamas which consisted of a purple baggy shirt and some comfy black shorts. Syndra wasn't sure when, but at some point watching the sunset from her garden had become a habit for her. Syndra wasn't the type of person to have a routine, but she found that she enjoyed the view too much to ignore it. Though tonight she found that she couldn't enjoy it as much as she usually did, she could feel someone watching her. She felt the intruder arrive a few minutes ago, but when she turned her head to address them they disappeared into the shadows of her balcony and hadn't moved since. Syndra didn't get many visitors at her fortress so she already had a clue as to who sent them.<p>

"It's rude to stare you know" Syndra called out still staring out towards the setting sun.

When Syndra was only met with silence her expression morphed into one of annoyance. Syndra pulled her left leg up to where she was sitting and placed her chin into the palm of her hand. _Just as stubborn as your master_, she thought to herself.

"I know you're hiding back there. My magic is embedded into this fortress, no one touches it without me knowing." Annoyance seeping into Syndra's voice.

Syndra sighed, _I guess we have to do this the hard way_. Without looking, Syndra reached her arm behind her in a wide arc and used her magic to grab ahold of the figure hiding in the shadows and brought him dangling over the ledge in front of her. Syndra wasn't surprised when she found that it was one of Zed's shadow ninjas dangling in front of her.

"If Zed wants to tell me something, why doesn't he just come and tell me in person?" Syndra asked the dangling shadow ninja. Said ninja didn't respond but merely reached into his uniform with a shaky hand and pulled out a piece of paper that they then handed to Syndra.

Syndra rolled her eyes as she accepted the note, "What does a girl have to do to get a decent conversation around here, you ninjas never say anything when you visit." Deciding that she wasn't going to get any information out of the ninja she lowered him down towards the ground and dropped him into the lake below her fortress.

_"__Now don't you think that was a bit harsh?" _A sarcastic and deep voice said from behind Syndra.

This time Syndra adjusted herself and looked up into a tree behind her to see Zed's shadow sitting in a branch staring back at her. Syndra didn't like Zed's shadow; it didn't have a physical form so she couldn't feel its presence, and whenever she talked to the shadow it usually didn't have anything pleasant to say.

"Well maybe if your other half would come to see me in person, or he would send someone who I could have a decent conversation with, they would return home dry. Instead I get these mimes who think they can hide from me in my home, and instead of telling me what they want like a normal person they just hide in trees and balconies all night." Syndra ranted.

The only response Syndra got was a chuckle from Zed's shadow before it disappeared. Syndra could never be sure if Zed's shadow acted independently or of Zed's own will. Whenever she tried to press Zed about it he always told her it was under his control, but the more Syndra got to know Zed and his shadow, the more she found it harder to believe.

Syndra sighed as she laid back and stared up at the night sky, alone again completely forgetting about the note from Zed. Syndra didn't mind being alone, but sometimes even she wanted some companionship; or at least a decent conversation every once in a while.

After deciding that she wanted to visit a city soon, Syndra got excited upon remembering that the Harrowing was coming up. While Syndra didn't like the elders of Ionia, she didn't mind the cities or people as a whole. It wasn't unusual for her to sneak into them every once in a while, especially during festivals. While the people of Ionia feared her, Syndra quickly realized that most people didn't know actually know what "The Dark Sovereign" really looked like, especially without her headdress.

Syndra decided that she was going to retire, happy that she had something to look forward to.

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><p>AN: So I decided that I wasn't going to include the Institute of War in this series, so Ionia never challenged Noxus to a league match to get their land back. Instead they had to take it back themselves in this story.

Also shoutout to meltedjujubees for giving me permission to use her idea of Zed's shadow being sentient; and my girlfriend Midnightfluff, for reviewing and helping this chapter.

Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and gave a review! If there was anything that you liked or think I can improve on be sure to let me know!


	3. A Good Night's Rest

**A/N: Bit of a slower chapter before the action in the next chapter or two. I felt like doing something special for snowdown, but since Irelia and Syndra are WAY off of being that comfortable with each other, DREAM SEQUENCE. Also I am going to be uploading an omake for (hopefully) each chapter within the next few days, so keep an eye out!**

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><p>Irelia sat at a table with Iroh, Sumona, and Arvile planning out their next day's journey. They had spent most of the day traveling by boat from the Placidium down to Qi Jon, a port in the province of Navori. They were staying at one of the port cities inns, Sumona and Arvile had just gotten back from getting supplies and securing them some horses for their next leg of their journey.<p>

"Assuming that we leave at sunrise, we should be able to make it to the border town by sundown." Iroh said in a calm quiet tone. His hair was almost completely grey at this stage in his life, but he still had a muscular build despite his age and Irelia knew from personal experience that he was still a capable warrior.

"First thing in the morning! You have to be kidding me," Arvile complained. Arvile was a nobleman's son and because of this his military experience was a lot more luxurious compared to the rest of the group. He was from Demacia so his hair was brown compared to black and his jaw was square instead of round like most Ionians. Irelia found that she could find no common ground with him due to his demeanor and lack of experience.

"What's the matter rich boy, not used to having to dress yourself in the morning?" Sumona teased as she playfully waved her knife in Arviles direction. She was a rogue that fled from Bilgewater to join the Ionian military, never actually expecting she would have to fight.

"Don't wave a knife in a man's face unless you plan to use it," Iroh scolded Sumona to which she responded by childishly rocking back into her chair and unsuccessfully blowing her black bangs out of her face.

Iroh turned to Irelia and continued, "Anyway as I was saying, at sundown tomorrow we will meet up with Karma's ex-Noxian at the Nabubu Inn." As he was about to continue he was once again interrupted.

"So Irelia, you know in this light your mantle of decorum looks like a halo, want to be my celestial maiden?" Arvile said as he clicked his tongue jauntily with what he believed to be sophistication and confidence.

Irelia slowly looked up at Arvile in seeming consideration, suddenly she turned to Sumona and handed her a key. "We are in the last room on the right, I am retiring for the night and I will be locking the door behind me." Irelia got up from her chair and walked towards the room waving her hand at Iroh wishing him a pleasant evening. In response Iroh raised his mug in a salute to her words and also wished her a good night.

"Wait what just happened, what about me?!" Arvile said with a puzzled look on his face.

"You're going to have to teach me some of your tricks lad, you had her in the palm of your hands" Iroh laughed mockingly as he gave Arvile a pitying slap on the back.

Confidence renewed Arvile got up and headed towards the rooms before returning a minute later realizing that he didn't have a key nor a clue as to what room he was staying in.

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><p>(Dream-scape)<p>

_Irelia looked around at a snow covered Placidium full holiday lights and decorations. It was snow down which meant that almost everyone in Ionia would be coming to the Placidium for the festivities. As Irelia was taking in the scenery a woman bundled up in purple and white snow gear with hair white as the snow approached her. She came up to Irelia and gave her a long hug, nuzzling her head into Irelia's shoulder for the hugs duration. She was a few inches shorter than Irelia but this only made it easier for her to find the perfect spot to rest her head._

_"Are you ready to go Irelia?" the woman said, as she cocked her head up and peered up at Irelia. _

_Without any will of her own, Irelia nodded and the two women released each other from their embrace. It was like Irelia was a spectator in her body as it moved without her consent. At first Irelia was resistant of only being able to watch herself from afar, but as time went on she became captivated by the mysterious woman and found that she was actually enjoying herself even if she could only watch._

_The first stop was the Serene gardens, all of the dormant trees were decorated with holiday lights and the grounds were littered with snowmen of varying shapes and sizes. As the two walked through the gardens holding hands, Irelia was pointing out the various snowmen which were all in the shapes of Santa Gragas and his helpers. Upon reaching the end of the snowmen Irelia and the woman entered one of the Placidium's many family diners. During the meal they were laughing, occasionally feeding each other food, and genuinely enjoying themselves. Irelia reflected that the thing that she appreciated the most about the scene was that she wasn't acting like the captain of the guard. Instead she was able to act as herself, which was something she couldn't remember the last time she was able to do._

_After they had finished eating they went to the Placidium's theater where they got to see one of Ionia's many snow down themed plays. They had a private booth that gave them a clear view of the entire play. The whole time the white haired woman's head laid on Irelia's shoulder. The spot must have been fairly comfy because Irelia noticed that she had fallen asleep before the play was even half way over. She stayed asleep even as Irelia carried her back to Irelia's house. Just before they reached Irelia's street the woman woke up and realized where she was. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Against Irelia's gentle protest the woman begged to be put down and they walked the rest of the way home side by side, the woman's face still filled with a tinge of embarrassment._

_As they neared the entrance to the home the white haired woman's face turned from embarrassment into a playful grin. As Irelia walked up to unlock the door, she didn't even notice as the white haired woman stayed behind and formed snowballs almost magically. As Irelia fiddled with the door the woman chucked the snowballs at her. Irelia stiffened as they caught her by surprise and one of them made its way down her neck. The woman giggled as Irelia danced around as the snow that hit her slowly made its way into the back of her shirt. Irelia ran over to the woman and playfully tackled her into the snow, this time it was Irelia's turn to giggle as she took some snow and stuffed it down the white haired woman's shirt in return. After her initial reaction the white haired woman pouted in defeat, Irelia gave her a kiss on the forehead and helped her up before they entered the warm house together._

_A few minutes and a few less articles of clothing later Irelia and the white haired woman were cuddling on a warm rug under a fuzzy blanket in front of her fireplace. They were both in their pajamas now, the white haired woman was wearing nothing but a purple tinted night gown that clung to her upper body but laid loosely on the lower half where it ended a few inches below her waist. The gown barely covered her private areas, not that it mattered since the gown was pretty much see-through. In contrast Irelia wore warm pajama pants and a red t-shirt, but she still appreciated the sight the woman gave her. As the fire died the women turned to each other and brought their hands up to each other's faces. Steadying themselves they leaned forward and brought their lips together in a slow, sensual kiss. Parting after a few moments the woman looked up at Irelia and said ". . ."_

_Confused Irelia asked "what?"_

_Again the woman looked at Irelia and said ". . ."_

_Slightly angry now Irelia again asks "What were those three words?"_

_The woman smugly looked at her and says "Dream's over Irelia"_

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><p>Irelia awoke to Sumona shaking her shoulder, "Come on wake up."<p>

Irelia slowly got up shaking her head. She tried to recall her dream but the more she attempted to remember it the foggier the memory became. Eventually the woman's face was nothing more than a blur to Irelia.

"Geez, I have been trying to wake you up for five minutes now." Sumona continued.

Irelia looked at Sumona, finally realizing she was standing very close to her, "Oh, sorry. I was just having a weird dream."

Sumona merely raised an eyebrow in response, her face otherwise blank of emotion.

"Just go on ahead, I'll catch up." Irelia said as she waved her hand dismissively. Irelia sighed internally, what was I expecting Sumona to say…?

After Sumona had left Irelia laid back onto her bed putting her hands over her face trying to recall her dream. Irelia's head was buzzing full of questions.

Who was that woman? What were we doing? Were we on a date? Why was I on a date with a woman?

The entire dream confused Irelia. It invoked feelings Irelia wasn't familiar with, for a person that she had never met before.

The more Irelia thought about it, the more she feel a sense of loneliness creep into her heart. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in years. Before Irelia managed to repress the feeling she wondered whether or not her dream could ever become reality.


	4. Rendezvous with a Noxian

**A/N: Characters are the property of Riot, but the plot twists and ideas are mine.**

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><p>As Irelia left the inn, she was surprised to find out that the sun had barely risen over the horizon. The streets were slowly filling up with people going about their day, but the only one of her companions in sight was Iroh. Irelia approached Iroh, who was leaning against a wall across the street, a bit confused at the whereabouts of her other companions.<p>

"Where is Arvile and Sumona? Sumona left before me, and I didn't see them in the inn while I was eating."

"They were getting a bit impatient waiting around," Iroh said as he started to walk, "so I sent them ahead to prepare the horses they got for us near the edge of town last night. We should arrive a little bit after dark tonight."

"I thought you said we would arrive before sundown tonight?" she questioned.

"Aye, lass, we were supposed to. Unfortunately, I heard from some locals that the bridge for the Kai-shi River is out, so we will have to make a detour around it."

Irelia pondered for a second trying to remember the river Iroh was talking about. She was fairly familiar with Ionian geography and most of its major mountains and rivers, it didn't take long to remember which river Iroh was talking about. This made Irelia frown, the area around the river was fairly deserted due to its close proximity to the mountains. The detour would take them one to two hours to complete.  
>It was enough to slow them down, but not enough to make them delay their arrival to the next day. The fact that it was only a minor inconvenience to a traveler was what worried Irelia the most.<p>

Iroh must have been able to sense that Irelia was worried, because he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as they arrived at the stables. "I'm sure things will be fine lass," he said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she said with a halfhearted smile, trying to convince herself more than Iroh that they were true.

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><p>It had been several hours since Irelia and her companions had left, though they tried not to show it, they were all exhausted by this time. The remaining path was fairly straight forward considering they had just gotten past the Kai-shi River, which should have been the hardest part of their journey. Surprisingly, they had managed to cross the river without any issues, except for when a fish scared Arvile's horse and it nearly bucked him off into the river. The area past the river was mostly surrounded by trees and the occasional boulder on the side of the road. From their current location they could see a faint outline of the village that was highlighted by its shining lights against the almost night time sky.<p>

Earlier that day Irelia had taken her blades out of her traveling pack. She had kept them there due to the fact that that most people found it disturbing how her bladed floated and seemed to react without orders from her. She felt most comfortable with them out, rather than hiding away in a bag like the last few days. Right now they were floating flatly on Irelia's back. Oddly enough, having them there made Irelia feel more comfortable. On a journey as long as the one they were making today, Irelia was grateful for the small comfort her blades had provided. Whenever Irelia wasn't able to distract herself on their journey, the dream from the prior night would creep back into her mind. Irelia had had dreams before, but none of them bothered her as much the one from the previous night. The white haired woman's face was still a blur, and the confusion it brought her did little to help sort out her thoughts.

As they got closer to the village, Sumona pulled her horse off to the side.

"Is everything alright Sumona?" Irelia asked

"I've been thinking," Sumona said as she tied her horse to a tree, "we have no clue if we can trust this Noxian. We could be riding straight into an ambush and not even know it. How do we even know that she showed up?"

The group remained silent as Sumona's words sunk in. They had all probably entertained the idea in their minds at one point or another, but Sumona was the first one to actually address it.

"You don't think the Noxian's would use ambush tactics do you? I mean even if they are mercenaries, aren't Noxians too head strong and honor bound to use such tactics?" Arvile questioned.

Iroh was the first to respond to Arvile, "Normally lad, you would have a point. They most likely wouldn't in a time of war, but these mercenaries have been here a while and are likely to do whatever they can to survive."

"There are probably some Zaunite mercenaries mixed in with them as well, it would be foolish to think that they are exclusively Noxian." Irelia added, unintentionally letting her distaste for Zaunites slip into her voice. Irelia hadn't cared much for Noxians, but at least they had fought face to face in battle. While Irelia had never experienced the horror of the Zaunite melters herself, she had seen the destruction they had caused to her people and the area's they had bombed. Just thinking about them made Irelia's stomach churn with distaste. Irelia took a deep breath, _calm down_, she thought to herself trying to push away her hatred for those that invaded her country.

Irelia snapped back to reality when Iroh had spoken up, "Sumona, do you think you could go and scout ahead to make sure that our Noxian friend has actually shown up?"

Sumona replied with a slightly concerned voice, "Of course, will you guys be alright staying here and setting up camp in the dark?"

"Aye lass, go on ahead. We'll wait here for ya here."

* * *

><p>The Noxian warrior sat in a tree, looking out at the village entrance, expecting the warriors that Karma had sent to be here by now. She wore a long dark brown cloak that covered most of her body, hiding the tattered remnants of her military armor. Due to the repairs she had made to her armor it was probably equally as Ionian as it was Noxian at this point. She had taken off her hood as soon as it had started to get dark out, revealing her short white hair and crimson eyes.<p>

_Where are they…?_ _They should have been here two hours ago._ She thought to herself.

She didn't like waiting, the fact that Ionians were rarely ever late was something she respected about this country. Ionians being late was never a good thing, especially in a part of the country that was being terrorized by mercenaries. While the warrior didn't care much for the countries mercenary issue, she did have a score to settle with some of the leftover Zaunites.

The Noxian warrior's thoughts were interrupted when she saw a campfire shoot up in the distance.

_A campfire? Fuck, there is a mercenary camp right by there!_

She wasted no time jumping down from the tree and rushing out of town towards source of the light, fearing for the worst.

_Come on, please be alive! I need your help and you guys can't do that if you're dead._

As she drew closer, her unease grew as the noise of clashing metal filled the air.

* * *

><p>A bead of sweat ran down the side of Irelia's forehead as she fended off a mercenary's attack. It was only a few minutes after they had started the fire when they were attacked. Last time she had seen them, Iroh was on the opposite side of the fire near a boulder, and Arvile was across from Iroh near the road. Unfortunately, because of the men standing before her, she couldn't glance over to see how well her allies were faring. From the difficult time Irelia was having with them, she figured that they probably were having just as tough a time as she was. Irelia was able to block and dodge the mercenaries' attacks repeatedly. They weren't particularly skilled swordsmen, but they did have the element of surprise and they weren't fatigued from a long days travel.<p>

_Just wait for an opening, _Irelia thought to herself, trying to herself from being rash.

It didn't take long for Irelia's patience to be rewarded, one of the mercenaries had charged forward at her screaming while trying to stab her in the stomach. Irelia nimbly stepped out of the way, using her blades to parry the blow and using her momentum to spin with the block and bring her sword around across her attackers exposed mid-section. Irelia backed off quickly out of habit to avoid a retaliation strike, narrowly avoiding another one of the mercenaries' attack.

Keeping her calm and after avoiding a few more attacks, another opportunity arose when a mercenary swung his sword in a large arcing motion towards Irelia. She stopped him with a swift kick to the groin, bringing her blade up into his chest as he doubled over. As she did this, the other mercenaries backed off a bit, mumbling amongst themselves.

Irelia was left confused since there was still a few of them left, _surely they aren't retreating already?_ Irelia thought to herself. She had seen soldiers retreat from a losing battle before, but never this quickly.

Sunddenly a tall, bald, and burly mercenary stepped forward, grunting angrily. "That was my brother you Ionian wench, you are going to regret that!" he bellowed.

Irelia cursed to herself as he wielded the broadsword that had been strapped to his back.

The man swung his sword wide in a slashing motion towards her mid-section, and Irelia was forced to jump back to dodge the attacks. His movements were slow, but the size of the sword made it difficult for Irelia to get close to him. She couldn't block without risking that the sheer power of his attacks would knock her over. He continued his onslaught for three more strikes, before bringing the sword in an overhand strike downwards. Irelia narrowly managed to jump to the side. She used her foot to turn the blade so her foot was on the dull side preventing the sword from being raised upwards. Irelia used this opportunity to try and stab the man, but was stopped when the man grabbed her by the neck and hoisted her into the air. Irelia clawed at his hand as he choked her while lifting her up. The only saving grace she had was that his weapon was too heavy to lift with one hand so he couldn't stab her, and apparently none of the other men were willing to attack her while he was fighting.

_This is going to hurt_, Irelia thought to herself as an idea crossed her mind. She grabbed a hold of the man's wrist, and used it for leverage as she pulled her feet to her chest and kicked the man in the face. The man dropped Irelia, she used the dull side of her blades to tip her over midair so she didn't fall on her back, but she still fell roughly on her forearms and knees. Irelia coughed repeatedly as air refilled her lungs, looking up up she saw the man walk over to his sword while holding his nose.

Irelia heard the man cussing at her, as he hefted his sword. She used her knee to help stabilize herself and stand up, bringing her blade up in front of her. As the man walked towards her, Irelia prepared herself for the worst. Normally she wouldn't have had a problem dealing with the man, but with the exhaustion setting in from a long day's journey it made things more difficult. As the man prepared to lift the sword up, there was shouts from the other mercenaries. As the man turned, Irelia saw a figure in brown stab the man in the side with a large broken sword.

Irelia was momentarily confused by what had happened, but quickly snapped back into reality. Irelia ran up and quickly dispatched three mercenaries that were close by while they stood there stunned. With all of the mercenaries around Irelia gone, she looked around for Iroh and Arvile. As she looked over towards Iroh, she saw him defending himself against four attackers and when she glanced over towards Arvile he was dealing with the same amount. Irelia looked back and forth between the two, unsure what to do.

Irelia cursed to herself internally, _I'm sorry,_ she thought as she rushed towards the battle closest to her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So whose side did Irelia rush to? Find out next time on Dragonba- sorry wrong show, actually, next chapter will be Syndra and Zed. So you're going to have to wait two chapters to find out. Don't hate me! My girlfriend made me do it, and she controls the editing.**

**Don't forget to leave a review! Let me know what you liked and disliked, What can I improve, what you want to see more of, and how I did on writing my first ever fight scene.**


	5. Harrowing Preparation

**A/N: I imagine Zed and Syndra to have a platonic, Sibling relationship, so that is why Zed is being mean yet helpful. This is also why Zed acts repulsed by seeing excessive amounts of Syndra's body. Also, going was NOT his idea.**

**Edit: Zed will get his badass moments in the future, but right now this is a light-hearted fluff chapter. Whose purpose is more to showcase the relationship that Zed and Syndra have with one another, rather than their actual personalities. Besides, Villains can't be dark and evil ALL the time.**

* * *

><p>Syndra glared into her closet thinking, <em>I have nothing to wear for the Harrowing!<em> She begins to pull out various outfits telling herself, _No. No. No. No._ With each no she adds another outfit to the growing reject pile behind her, slowly consuming what was once her bed. As she pulled out an elegant dress that looked promising she remembered the last time she wore it. _I killed someone last time I wore this, didn't I?_ Upon further inspection she noticed a blood stain on the hemline, _mental note: take this to the cleaners. _Digging deeper into her closet she pulls out her pajamas. She begins to fling them into the pile when she notices a note fall out of her pants pocket.

_What is this?_ Syndra unfolds the paper reading:

_Syndra,_

_Please stop flinging my ninjas. I'm running out of ninjas that are willing to deliver messages to you. They are starting to get phobias of flying like squirrels. About the Harrowing, do I have to make my own costume or are we going as a pair? You better not wear another skimpy outfit, because I refuse to look at your pasty skin more than I have to. Also, we need masks. There's no way that I am walking anywhere without a mask on, and neither should you._

_Let me know ASAP, otherwise I'm not going._

_Zed_

Syndra angrily balled up the paper, throwing it into the trashcan.

_Who does he think he is telling me what to do and what to wear! What does he mean pasty!_

As she continues ranting, realization hit Syndra

_Wait, when did I get this note?_ Syndra thought as she mentally counted the days gone by.

_1…2….3…4…5… days!_

"Crap! I have to find Zed!" Syndra yelled as she started to rummage through her clothes for something to wear. Giving up on the closet, she ran over to her dresser and began to ransack it in an attempt to find an outfit.

* * *

><p>Zed sat on his throne, listening to a report that one of his subordinates was giving him. While the ninja was giving the report, Zed thought about Syndra and her plans for the Harrowing.<p>

_It's been five days since she was given my note. I think that's enough time for her to theoretically read it and for her to travel here. I guess I'll have to track her down myself._

Part of the reason why Zed always tried to have his ninjas sneak the note into Syndra's fortress is because he thought that there would be a higher chance of her reading it if she actually found it herself, rather than the usual where the ninjas would give it to her, and then they'd get air mailed back.

"…After following the target for three days, there is no evidence that he would lead us to any members of the Kinkou Order."

"Capture and interrogate him! Get any information out of him that we can!" Zed ordered.

The ninja answered with a swift "Yes, sir!" before giving a bow and shadow walking away.

**_"Now, now. Shouldn't you be paying attention to your subordinates, rather than concerning yourself with HER?"_**

Zed turned to his shadow and replied, "Unlike YOU, I actually have a brain so I can multi-task."

The shadow laughed, **_"Regardless, is it really worth your time to cater to that child's whim?"_**

"That child's power is equivalent to a God, so keeping her as ally is in my best interest. Besides it's an opportunity to scout the enemy, I might even be able to get a lead as to the whereabouts of the remaining members of the Kinkou Order."

**_"Keep telling yourself that. Have fun playing dress up!" _**Zed's shadow retorted cheerfully, before giving a sarcastic wave and disappearing.

Zed sighed, _I hate that guy…_

**_"I heard that!"_**

Zed gave an audible sigh before opening a shadow portal to take him to Syndra's fortress.

Zed stepped out of his portal into Syndra's garden. After searching the gardens and not finding her, he began to search the actual fortress. As he made his way deeper into the fortress he began to hear banging noises and grunts of frustration, he found himself in front of Syndra's bedroom door.

After hearing a particularly loud bang, Zed barged into the room.

"What are you do…MY EYES!" Zed screamed as dropped to the floor.

* * *

><p>Syndra turned from her armoire to look at Zed, who was dramatically rolling while holding his face.<p>

"I'm wearing underwear you know!"

"WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANY CLOTHES ON!?"

"I'm working on it!"

"WORK HARDER!"

Syndra rolled her eyes and grabbed her bathrobe. Tying it, she walked over to Zed and kicked him.

"You can open your eyes now…wuss_"_

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Really Zed? You come to my home and barge into my room unannounced, and you are complaining to me about trust!?"

"…fair enough," Zed peeked through his fingers to double check that Syndra wasn't lying.

Seeing this, Syndra huffed and kicked him again. "Go and wait in the garden, I'll be out in like ten minutes."

**Twenty minutes later**

"What took you so long" Zed questioned

"Yeah, yeah. " Syndra said as she waved her hand side to side "It took me a while to find an outfit that I wanted, and afterwards I had to put all my clothes back." Truthfully Syndra had let most of her clothes lying on the floor, but Zed didn't need to know that.

"Anyway, what are we doing for the Harrowing this year?"

"What do you want to go as?" Syndra asked with a bored expression on her face.

Zed shrugged his shoulders, "I don't care. I just want to get this over with."

Syndra tapped her finger against her cheek in thought, various expressions, mostly evil smiles, coming across her face as she imagined the costumes she could try and make Zed wear.

"How about-"

"No!" Zed exclaimed.

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I can already tell by the grin on your face that I am not going to like it!"

"Fine…" Syndra huffed, "do you have any great ideas?"

"You invited me, it's your job to come up with the ideas. I want to be something that strikes fear into people hearts! Not some silly baker."

"Yeah, yeah, dark and foreboding." After a few moments, a realization hit Syndra, "Wait that's it! You can go as a Shinigami! That way you can still be your dark and faceless self."

Syndra noticed as Zed's eyes blinked slowly in astonishment.

"That….is actually a great idea," Zed patted Syndra on the shoulder, "Who knew you actually had a brain in there!"

Syndra moved away from Zed, "Just come back two days from now to try on your costume."

Zed walked away and opened a shadow portal. Before leaving he called to Syndra, "What are you going to go as?"

Syndra grinned, "Don't worry, you'll see." Before using her magic to push Zed through his own portal.

* * *

><p><strong>Two days later…<strong>

Zed sat upon his throne, a grin underneath his mask. He was being debriefed by one of his subordinates about the events of Syndra's shopping trip.

"What happened after The Dark Sovereign moved her castle towards Fai-Don?" Zed asked

"The reports state that the authorities tried investigating the fortress, but were repelled by a magic barrier. They couldn't find The Dark Sovereign till about an hour later. She was heard screaming about the ribbons being overpriced, she then blew a hole in the side of the fabric store."

**_"So, what was that about her being a valuable ally? Hmm….Zed?"_**

Zed ignored his shadows gripe, and beckoned his subordinate to continue.

"They lost her in the panic over the rubble, but they caught her terrorizing the blacksmith. Apparently she was trying to make him increase the size of one of his sets of armor. The record states that the blacksmith made a comment about The Dark Sovereigns figure compared to the armor. Upon arrival, the authorities found one set of armor missing, a small amount of gold to cover the armor, and the blacksmith squeezed into a barrel half his size. After releasing him, the blacksmith warned the officers about never insulting a woman's weight. The officers never would of known where she went if it wasn't for multiple eye witnesses confirming The Dark Sovereign exiting a mask shop and flying back to her fortress. Apparently, the shop was having a sale on out of season masks."

Zed dismissed his subordinate, who left after a bow.

**_"She is unstable. She can't even buy clothing without blowing up half a town. What hope do we have of keeping her in check?"_**

"Why do you think I'm going to this festival with her? If she ever truly loses control, nowhere in the world is safe from her wrath, the safest place to be is right next to her."

**_"I'm not sure if you are lying to me, or yourself. Either way, just remember the plan." _**The shadow finished before disappearing into the darkness.

Zed chuckled to himself, _right, your glorious 'plan'. Good luck with that_.

Zed created a portal to Syndra's fortress, and left the now empty throne room.

* * *

><p>Zed reappeared in the gardens, and to his surprise, Syndra was there waiting for him.<p>

"A little birdie told me that you an eventful shopping trip in Fai-Don." Zed quipped

"Shut up Zed."

"How much ribbon did you buy anyway?"

"Shut up Zed."

"You could have just told the blacksmith it was for a man."

"SHUT UP ZED"

"Though I am fairly curious as to what masks you ended up getting."

"Anything else you want to say before I fling you off my fortress?"

Zed stroked his chin in contemplation for a few moments, "Nah, I'm good. For now."

"Don't worry, the offer still stands" Syndra said sarcastically.

"Now, now. How did the costume making go?"

"Surprisingly well," Syndra said as she thrust a costume into Zed's arms. "Go try it on. Meet me outside in twenty minutes."

Zed went into a guest bedroom to try on his costume, as he begins to buckle everything into place he thinks to himself, _she actually guessed my size pretty well. Wait a minute…_

Zed derailed that train of thought for the sake of his sanity and continued to put the costume on. As he looked at himself in the mirror he saw the full effect of his costume. The oni mask that Syndra chose for him was gruesome. It had a bone white face with red horns. The back of the mask make it appear as if he hair long white hair.

_Makes me pretty unrecognizable._

Continuing his observations downwards he realized why he had to put on that horrifically red body suit. The armor of his costume was a dull silver and consisted of a sizable chest plate with two cloak clasps, shoulder guards, faulds, tabi socks, and sandals. Holding up his faulds was a red obi that had a skull medallion attached on the front. The edges of the armor was lined in gold, creating a striking contrast between silver, gold, and red. When put together he looked like a gruesome Shinigami, ready to take souls to the afterlife.

After Zed was satisfied with his costume, he walked back out to the gardens to meet up with Syndra. Zed was going to compliment Syndra on her efforts for the costume as he heard her walking out, but when he turned around to see her costume he was met with a terrifying sight.

Syndra's costume was nearly the exact opposite of Zed's. Whereas his covered his entire body, Syndra's was one wrong bend from falling out of hers. It looked like she took a kimono and made it into a halter top and mini skirt. In coloration, wherever he was silver and white, she was a deep red. Her red mask, _which she didn't even bother putting on her face_ was treated as a hair ornament. She had a red choker, which drew attention to the lack of clothing in her chest area. Her _kimono _if it could even be described as such anymore, was a deep red, almost like blood, which had detached sleeves. Her obi was white with gold accents, and her girdle was also gold. In addition, she had golden spiderlike legs attached to her back. Her hair, normally loose, was pulled up in such a way that it made her appear as if she had short hair. Her socks were uneven, and she had on ridiculously high heeled boots.

"What…are you wearing?"

"Can't you tell? I'm a Jorogumo." Syndra said happily.

"I thought our goal was to be stealthy at this festival? How are we going to do that if the entire world is staring at those!?" Zed exclaimed as he pointed at Syndra's chest.

Zed continued, "What is even holding your costume together? It looks like you are about to burst out of it at any moment!" Zed shuddered at the thought.

"You are just jealous that you don't get to show off skin like this." Syndra said as she gestured up and down her body.

"…No"

"It is not my fault that I have perfect skin, compared to your scarred and battered body."

"When have you seen my skin!?"

"I haven't, just a guess. You mustn't be a good ninja if you have a lot of scars."

"Shut up Syndra."  
>"Now, now Zed. If you dish it out, you have to take it." Syndra commented, as she condescendingly patted him on the shoulder.<p>

Syndra continued, "Let's meet up here on the day of the harrowing, and then you can use your 'spooky' shadow portal to go to the festival."

"Whatever" Zed said as he opened up his shadow portal and left Syndra's fortress.

Zed grinned as he heard a yell behind him as he left.

"Why do you always get the last word!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Fashion definitions courtesy of midnightfluff:**

**Halter top: Backless tank top, with a low cut front.**

**Faulds: The armor in fantasy games that hangs like a skirt.**

**Obi: In this case, rope belt.**

**Girdle****: Stomach piece of armor (in this case).**

**Tabi socks: Special socks to wear with Sandals.**

**I hope that we described their costumes well enough, in case we didn't. Zed is going as Blood Moon Thresh, and Syndra is going as Blood Moon Elise.**


	6. Party of Three

_Recap from Chapter 4_

_Irelia was momentarily confused by what had happened, but quickly snapped back into reality. Irelia ran up and quickly dispatched three mercenaries that were close by while they stood there stunned. With all of the mercenaries around Irelia gone, she looked around for Iroh and Arvile. As she looked over towards Iroh, she saw him defending himself against four attackers and when she glanced over towards Arvile he was dealing with the same amount. Irelia looked back and forth between the two, unsure what to do. _

_Irelia cursed to herself internally, __I'm sorry,__she thought as she rushed towards the battle closest to her._

* * *

><p>Irelia charged her way over to the closest battle. She stabbed the nearest mercenary in the back as she ran up behind them. She could hear the air escaping his lungs as she put her weight into the attack. As she heard the noise a chill shot up her spine. Irelia took her blade out, the body of the soldier collapsing in front of her as she did so. While this happened she continued with her momentum as she turned and stabbed the mercenary next to her in the stomach as he turned to look at his ally. While this was happening the mercenary next to Irelia turned towards her with a look of shock on his face as his ally fell only a few feet away from him. The other one turning his head, momentarily taking his focus off of the Iroh in front of him.<p>

_Got you_, Irelia thought.

Irelia watched while Iroh used his sword to disarm the mercenary in front of him, and then followed up by stabbing the sword deep into his stomach. Irelia saw the mercenary's expression change from one of shock to pure horror. She didn't even have a chance to try and engage the last mercenary as she saw him make a break for the forest as fast as he could. Irelia debated whether she should try and catch him or not, but decided against it, figuring that tending to her allies was more important.

Irelia walked over to Iroh and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I've been better, lass, but I'll live."

Irelia let out a sigh of relief that she didn't even realize she was holding.

After learning that Iroh was alright, she turned to go help Arvile. However, she saw that the mysterious warrior who had helped her earlier was aiding Arvile with the mercenaries around him. Irelia only caught a glimpse of the end of the fight. A mercenary had tried to block an attack from the hooded warrior, but with all of the momentum and strength the hooded warrior put behind her attack she broke through his defenses and slashed him deeply across the chest.

As Irelia surveyed the area all she saw among the darkness was a mess of death and destruction. There wasn't much left of the little campsite they had set up, but as the four of them walked towards the fire in the center it didn't appear that anyone was wounded. Once everyone had got into the light of the campfire Irelia could see that exhaustion was clearly etched onto Iroh's and Arvile's faces, and with how tired Irelia felt she was sure that her face probably wasn't any different.

"Are you both alright?" Irelia asked

"Of course, it'll take more than a few mercenaries to take me out!" Arvile's normally confident voice was laced with exhaustion.

"And what about you lass, what's your name?" Iroh asked the hooded stranger.

The hooded stranger ignored the question, instead asking "Who are you? Were you the soldiers sent by Karma?"

Irelia winced at the stranger's rudeness. _Iroh's not going to stand for that_.

"I appreciate the help that you gave us lass, but the least you could do is tell us your name. As you can see we're not exactly having the greatest night tonight, so a little faith on your part would be appreciated!"

The stranger huffed, "Fine. My name is Riven, now are you the ones that were sent by Karma?"

"If you are the ex-Noxian commander Riven, then yes we are; and judging by that sword of yours," Iroh assumed as he motioned towards Riven's broken great sword, "I'd say that is a pretty safe bet."

"So Riven, how did you know where to find us?" Irelia asked curtly.

A tinge of annoyance crossed Riven's face at Irelia's tone, but she otherwise responded normally. "I saw the campfire while I was in town, and by the looks of it so did every single mercenary in this area. I thought we were supposed to meet in town? You guys should have known that this area was too dangerous to camp out in."

"We sent our scout ahead to go meet you. Didn't you see her on the way here?" Irelia questioned.

A bit of surprise showed up on Riven's face, "No. I didn't see anyone on the way here."

Worry crossed everyone's face. Arvile was the first one to question Sumona's disappearance. "Wait, so then where is Sum-"

Arvile stopped mid-sentence. As Irelia looked over to see why, horror crossed her face as she noticed an arrow protruding from his chest.

Iroh ran up to him, catching him before he fell and gently laid him on the ground as he inspected the wound.

Irelia and Riven both drew their swords out of habit and positioned themselves defensively around Iroh. Waiting for some sort of answer to come as to what had just happened, but they were only met with silence.

The next few minutes were a blur to Irelia as Iroh barked orders at both her and Riven to fetch him various supplies.

After a while Iroh stopped asking for supplies, Irelia wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried at this.

"I-is he going to be alright?" Irelia asked.

Iroh's only response was a slow shake of his as he got up to wash his hands off with some leftover water from their canteens.

"No lass, he's gone." Iroh spoke solemnly.

As Irelia gazed blankly into the distance, she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up to see who it was, she was surprised to see that it was Riven.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Riven expressed, her eye's never quite meeting Irelia's.

"We didn't even know each other that well, this was our first mission together." Irelia voiced as a tear fell down her face, "he was always acting so unprofessional. Kind of like a child playing soldier."

"You tried your best, no one could have foreseen that arrow coming. We thought we got all of the mercenaries." Riven declared, trying to sound comforting.

"No, that isn't true. One got away earlier, I didn't think anything of it at the time." Irelia whispered, admonishing herself.

"Still, we were in the middle of battle. You couldn't abandon your allies just to chase after one mercenary."

"I should have chased after him to make sure!"

"You were more concerned with the random Noxian soldier among your comrades. Besides, it isn't like we saw any of them with bows."

"Riven's right lass, we're all soldiers. We knew the risks going into this." At this Iroh started to pack up their remaining supplies. "Now lassies, I'm not about to stand around here waiting to get ambushed again, nor am I going to leave a fallen soldier out here. We need to get his body to town so he can be returned to his family, and report what has happened to the council."

"What should we do about the rest of the mercenaries?"

"One soldier is dead, and another is missing. We're talented, but there's only three of us. We need to regroup and figure out our next course of action." As Iroh proclaimed this he started to use some sticks and cloth to create a makeshift stretcher for Arvile's body.

Iroh continued, "I need one of you to help me carry Arvile's body into town, and the other has to carry the rest of our supplies."

Riven was the first to speak up, "I'll carry the supplies for you, you should be the one to help carry your comrade's body into town."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>Later that night<strong>

Irelia, Iroh, and Riven had given Arvile's body over to the proper authorities to have him taken back to his family. Right now they were in the local inn figuring out what their next course of action should be.

"We should keep going with the operation." Irelia asserted.

"I would love to lass, but we just don't have the forces to do it right now."

"If we give up now then the losses that we have had would have been for nothing! We can't just leave these people to be terrorized by the mercenaries, we have to do something."

"Like what lass? We don't even know where all of the camps are. If we just go wandering around the mountains aimlessly looking for them we are going to get ourselves killed."

Irelia sat back, brooding on what they should do next.

"What about Sumona? We still don't even know where she is." Iroh continued.

Riven sighed before speaking up, "I could help you search for her, I know the surrounding area pretty well."

"You two go ahead and do that lassies. I'm going to arrange our transportation home." As Iroh conveyed this he got up and made his way towards the inn's exit.

* * *

><p>"We need to spread out and search as much of the area as we can." Riven explained.<p>

"We already covered half of this area when we traveled towards the town." Irelia responded.

"True, which is why we need to spread out more so we can cover more ground. We know that she probably wasn't along the road, otherwise we would have seen something already."

"Alright, you search the eastern path and I'll search the western path. Make sure to stay close by, I would prefer to not get ambushed again tonight."

With that Riven and Irelia started searching their respective paths for any clue as to what could have happened to Sumona. After a half hour of searching without any success, Irelia finally found a clue when she saw some disturbed foliage away from the path.

Irelia called out to Riven as she walked over to investigate, "Riven! I think I fou—"

Irelia's voice cut out as she saw tattered clothing on the ground and among the foliage and a large pool of blood.

_No….not again_ Irelia thought to herself as she searched the surrounding area for signs of a body. The scene eerily reminded her of when her brother Zelos had went missing, as images of the past flashed through her mind.

* * *

><p><strong><em>A few years earlier<em>**

_Irelia was lying in the infirmary. Even though she insisted that she was alright, the doctors made her stay just to make sure that she was uninjured after the battle at the Placidium._

_"__Lass, do you have a moment?" Iroh asked, as he entered the room in full military uniform. He was an old friend of Irelia's father, and had helped convince the Ionian military to let her and Zelos fight against Noxus when they had invaded a few weeks prior._

_"__Of course, what do I owe for the pleasure of this visit General Iroh?" Irelia responded._

_Iroh took his hat off and held it over his chest, twisting it in his hands._

_Irelia noted his unusual behavior, "is something wrong? It isn't like you to be nervous."_

_"__Lass, it is about Zelos. I'm afraid that he's missing. There are search parties out looking for him as we speak."_

_"__Wh-what do you mean? Wasn't he sent to get aid from Demacia?" Irelia stammered._

_"__Aye, and we contacted Demacia and no one has reported him showing up."_

_"__B-but maybe he just hasn't arrived yet. Demacia's a whole ocean and continent away, it would take him awhile to get there!"_

_"__We questioned people at every dock, no one fitting his description was reported leaving the island."_

**_Six weeks later_**

_Irelia's work was disturbed when she heard a knock on her front door. As she opened the door, she was greeted by Iroh and an Ionian soldier dressed in full military uniform carrying a folded Ionian flag with a military hat on top of it. As soon as Irelia saw it her eye's filled up with tears. She knew what the soldiers were going to say before they even spoke._

_"__I'm sorry Ms. Lito, but the search for Zelos has been called off. After searching for him for weeks and after contacting Demacia, the state has decided to declare him KIA. I'm sorry for your loss." The soldier stated._

_Iroh walked up to Irelia and supported her as she began to crumble to the ground, trying his best to comfort her as much as possible._

* * *

><p>Riven ran over to Irelia when she heard her call out. Irelia's voice cutting out so suddenly gave her a sinking feeling. Things were already going badly for the mission, Riven wasn't sure if the Ionian government would still honor their agreement after the loss of at least two of the soldiers sent to escort her.<p>

"Are you alright!? I thought you were attacked when your voice cut out like that. Did you find any…" Riven's voice trailed off as she got next Irelia and saw the cloth and pool of blood gleaming in the moonlight.

_That's a lot of blood, no one could survive that much blood loss, _Riven thought to herself.

Riven finally looked away from the blood and up at Irelia. She was planning on having her help search for a body to confirm who it was. When she saw the distant look on Irelia's face that plan quickly melted away.

_She's completely out of it,_ Riven thought to herself.

Riven recognized the look from personal experience. She decided that she didn't know how Irelia would react if she tried to snap her out of it. Instead, Riven led her over to boulder near the road and sat her down upon it. Afterwards, she went back over to the torn up foliage and looked around for any signs to confirm the source of the blood. After searching the entire surrounding area for what felt like forever and finding nothing, she decided to gather up the cloth and return to Irelia so they could go back to the village.

* * *

><p>A lone figure walks into a pitch black cave carrying a torch. The torch does little to illuminate the cave, but instead casts an eerie shadow. Suddenly the shadow jumps off the wall and manifests itself into a human form in front of the lone figure.<p>

**_"_****_How was the road trip?"_** The shadow asked.

"Almost everything went according to the plan, my liege. They fought off the first band, but unfortunately I was only able to take out one of the marks."

**_"_****_Tell me that you at least got the Noxian or the Will of the Blades? Or did you just go for the easiest kill?" _**The shadow questioned, his voice tinged with annoyance.

"B-But my liege, I went with the only one that I could. The others were too on guard."

At this the shadow moved forward towards the figure and stood over them menacingly.

**_"_****_I see how it is, I give you a job, it gets a little hard, and so you do the bare minimum regardless of what I ACTUALLY NEED YOU TO DO!"_**

The figure stumbles back in terror at the shadow's rage.

**_"_****_You need to make this up to me Sumona, I don't tolerate failures. My plan is going to be more difficult to unfold with the Noxian and Will of the Blades still alive."_**

The shadow then walked up to Sumona and placed its hand on her throat. Suddenly Sumona couldn't breathe as a chill overtook her throat, it felt like all the muscles in her throat had frozen in place.

In a whispered voice Sumona choked out, "L-l-lo-rd Z-ed….p-p-ple-as-e (gasp) F-f-f-or-g-g-ive M-m-m-e!"

The shadow released her throat, and she dropped to the ground gasping for air.

**_"_****_You better not fail me again Sumona, otherwise we will be having words." _**The shadow chuckled to itself, **_"Well, at least I will have words."  
><em>**With that the shadow walked away from Sumona. As she looked up, she saw the shadow give a sarcastic wave without even looking back at her as it disappeared into the darkness.

_What have I gotten myself into_? Sumona thought to herself. Pulling herself upright she continued, _Oh well, no turning back now. Better to be the winning side, then to go down with the ship._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Geez this was a long and hard chapter to write, I hope that it contained a surprise or two for everyone. Now that we have Riven, we are only a chapter or two away from the Harrowing! Aka Irelia and Syndra FINALLY meet. **

**Make sure to leave a review to tell me how you liked it, what I can improve upon, etc. If you have any questions you can ask in a review or send me a message, I will answer them if I can! If not, expect ambiguous answers, because most likely it is pivotal to the plot.**

**Also school starts back up in two weeks, I'm going to try and keep uploading on a weekly basis. If you don't see an update on Sunday, then don't freak out, I will try to have it up in a day or two.**


	7. Last Days of Normalcy

**A/N: This is the last chapter before the Harrowing! Riven and Zed are the main focuses of this chapter since Irelia and Syndra will be getting a lot of the focus from now on most likely. I also wanted to get some scenes with Zed in where he was his normal badass self(when not around Syndra), and I hope that I portrayed that accurately. Also, if you want to know where Irelia acquired the costumes, make sure to read chapter 7 of the Omake.**

**As always, remember to leave a review telling me how you liked the chapter!**

**Side note: It is really weird that the chapters I think are going to be shortest, end up being my longest.**

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><p>It had been several days since Riven had gotten back to the Placidium with Irelia from Navori. When they returned, Irelia offered to let Riven stay at her place, a request that she didn't have much choice but to accept. Riven figured that staying with Irelia would be better than staying as a guest of the Ionian government, which would have guards following her everywhere. Although Riven wanted protection from Noxian assassins, that didn't mean she wanted to forsake her privacy. This was a luxury that she only recently had been able to appreciate and now that she had it, she didn't want to give it up.<p>

Riven's thoughts were interrupted as she arrived at Karma's office. The Duchess of Ionia had requested to meet with Riven so they could talk about the terms of their agreement. Riven wasn't too worried about what Karma had to say, she already heard from Irelia that the Ionian officials had deemed the mission an overall success. After Riven, Irelia, and Iroh had left Navori, the Ionian government had sent some scouts to check on the status of the mercenary camps. While there was still the possibility of other mercenary camps in the area, the scouts found that the camp near the town was abandoned. Riven wasn't sure if they had spent too many forces on the ambush, or if they got up and left for fear of being found. Either way, the town and traveling merchants haven't been bothered by them in over a week. This was what had led the Ionian officials to declare it as a success, even though Irelia expressed that she felt it was the exact opposite.

"Come in."

As she heard this Riven entered into Karma's room. The room itself was of moderate size; containing a desk, some chairs, some bookshelves, and a couple stacks of paper work. The decoration was simple like most rooms in Ionia. Karma wore a simple black and white dress that appeared to cover most of her body, except for around her biceps. Riven had noticed in her time in Ionia that the people of this country loved sleeves that didn't connect to their shirts. Riven couldn't bring herself to understand how or why this piece of Ionian fashion had come to be. As Riven approached the desk Karma got up and extended her hand.

"Hello, we have talked much, but I do not think that we have been properly introduced yet. I am Karma, the Duchess of Ionia."

Riven accepted Karma's handshake and introduced herself before taking a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of the Duchess' desk.

"So Riven, as per our agreement we will provide you with a home for you. We will also post guards around the perimeter to try and keep you safe. Hopefully in future-"

Riven raised her hand, interrupting Karma.

"I appreciate the offer of protection, but I would prefer not to have guards following me around everywhere. I'd rather have shelter from Noxus and extradition immunity more than anything else."

Karma sat back and folded her arms.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you stay here unsupervised. I know that you have reached out to us for help, but you are still an ex-Noxian soldier. It would not be in my best interest to let you roam around unsupervised." Karma replied flatly.

_I figured as much, can't say I blame her though._ Riven thought to herself. Riven mentally went through her options, while she wouldn't mind having a house to herself, being followed around by guards is out of the question. After a bit of thinking a solution popped into Riven's mind.

"How about if I continue to stay with Irelia? I've been staying with her ever since we got back from Navori, so you wouldn't have to worry about providing me with a home. As for you wanting me to be supervised, what better person to keep an eye on me than the captain of the guard herself?"

A look of satisfaction shot across Karma's face for a second, "Assuming that you can get Irelia's permission, I have no qualms with this plan."

Riven felt a sense of relief and satisfaction wash through her as Karma spoke those words.

"If there isn't anything else that you wanted to talk to me about, I assume that we are done here?"

"You are free to go Riven."

"Thank you," Riven said as she got up and started to leave.

"Just one more thing, Riven."

Riven paused at the door, and glanced back at Karma.

"If Irelia doesn't agree to let you stay at her residence," Karma paused to let her words sink in, "You will report back here immediately to pick up your guards. Understood?"

Riven nodded her consent as she left the office.

_Ionian hospitality don't fail me now._

* * *

><p>Zed overlooked his ninjas as they went through the obstacle course one by one. The obstacle course, which could easily be reconfigured to suit their needs, was setup to mimic an Ionian mansion. Their goal was simple; get in, "assassinate" their target, and get out without being seen. While the goal was simple, the challenge was not. Their target was being guarded by their peers who posed as guards, and the rooms were wide open, with few places to hide. Those that succeeded got to move on to the next level, those that failed had to try again in a different configuration. Those that failed were required to spar an elder student. While ninjas didn't fight in hand to hand combat often, it was a good skill to have and ensured that his students didn't fail often.<p>

Zed watched from above the obstacle course as a student went through the course. She would "kill" whenever the opportunity arose, without thought or reason.

_**"Now isn't she a bloodthirsty one, I like her."**_ The shadow commented.

"Our path is not one of mindless violence."

The shadow turned to Zed, if he had eyebrows they would have been raised in disbelief. **_"Really? That is your response after wiping out more than half of the Kinkou order?"_**

Zed turned towards the shadow, "That was not my call! Had it been up to me, I would have banished the heretics."

The shadow changed to a more upbeat tone, _**"Ah, but that would have left loose ends, and we both know you can't have a plan with loose ends."**_

Zed ignored the shadow's rebuttal and looked back towards the obstacle course as the female student approached the end of the obstacle course. She had about three rooms left before she reached her target, and showed no sign of slowing down her massacre. He decided that he would show the student the error of her ways. Personally.

Zed jumped down, donned a guard uniform but kept his face mask on, and made his way to the room before the assassination target. As he entered, Zed gestured for the students posing as body guards to leave the room as he placed himself in front of the door to the target, putting his back to the entrance. His students were confused at first, but swiftly left the room. They knew better than to question Zed's orders. Zed did not have to wait long for the student to arrive.

Zed could feel the air pressure in the room change as the door behind him was opened. He could feel the student's presence, and sighed to himself internally as he heard her footsteps.

How far has this order fallen that someone could make it this far in this manner?

As he felt her approach, Zed turned pulling his knee up to his chest and delivering a swift kick to her sternum. He watched as she flew back and landed harshly on the ground, clearly not expecting any sort of resistance.

_"Not even a backwards roll to recover? It seems things are worse than I thought."_ Zed mused out loud.

The student looked dazed and confused for a second, but quickly snapped back to reality. She looked up as Zed approached her. A look of shock overtook her face as Zed grabbed her by the collar. He dragged her across the floor to the far side of the room, before throwing her through one of the walls. Zed walked through the hole in the wall, and gazed at her as she laid in the main viewing area of the training hall. She laid there, in front of all her fellow students, unmoving as she attempted to decipher the events that had just transpired.

"You have _**failed**_ the obstacle course, you have**_ failed_ **your classmates, and worst of all you have **_FAILED ME_**." As Zed speaks, a dark and echoing tone overtakes his voice.

The student groaned that she had failed her lord and master, again. "I don't understand, I was nearly at the target and no one was able to stop me! They were all dead before they could sound the alarm."

"And THAT is why you failed, Mentiri."

"Forgive me, my lord, but the object was to assassinate the target. What should it matter if I killed a few guards along the way?" Mentiri defended as she slowly got to her feet.

Mentiri wasn't standing for more than a second before Zed started to deliver a flurry of blows that she was barely able to block. Chastising her every time he landed a hit.

"Ninjas only kill when necessary!"

"Ninjas don't leave behind evidence!"

"Ninjas are silent!"

"And ninjas especially do not enter through the front door!" Zed yelled as he delivered an uppercut to her stomach, doubling her over.

Zed turned his attention to the students who were watching in horror and awe.

"Let this be a lesson to the rest of you. If I find anyone else breaking these rules, you'll receive double the punishment because you've already been warned! We are ninjas of the Order of the Shadow, not a group of mindless, bloodthirsty mercenaries!"

* * *

><p>After leaving Karma's office, Riven headed straight back to Irelia's house and explained the situation to Irelia.<p>

"So can I stay here? I really don't feel like being trailed by guards everywhere I go." Riven pleaded.

Irelia fumbled her words, seemingly baffled by the situation.

_Maybe I should have slowed down in my explanation._

After a few moments, Irelia gathered herself together, and gave a proper response.

"Sure, it would be nice to not come home to an empty house again." Irelia responded, looking a little saddened towards the end of her statement.

Riven felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as Irelia finished her sentence.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for imposing myself on you like this, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of some old guys in armor following me around."

Riven went over and took a seat in a nearby chair, relaxing. For the first time, in quite a long time, her mind was worry free. Riven sat there for a couple of minutes as Irelia prepared a meal for the two of them. After setting down the plates of food, Irelia spoke up,

"By the way, next week I am going to a festival that is going to last the whole day. I am not sure if you want to come."

"You mean The Harrowing? No thanks, I'm not into dressing up."

"Alright then, I guess we will have to ask Karma if she is alright with leaving you here unsupervised for the day."

Riven gulped as she weighed her options.

_I really would prefer not to go, but I wanna go see Karma even less._

Riven didn't have anything against Karma personally, but due to the circumstances, she didn't want to see Karma any more than necessary. At least not regarding anything involved with guards.

"So, where is a good place to get a costume?" Riven replied with forced cheer.

A small smirk made its way onto Irelia's face as she replied, "don't worry, I know just where to get them."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like how this turns out?" Riven mumbled to herself.

* * *

><p><em>Slow and Steady<em>, Riven told herself as she practiced her sword exercises.

Whenever she had free time, Riven would practice the exercises and forms that had been drilled into ever since she was a recruit in the Noxus army. Riven had learned them long ago, around when she first joined the army. It didn't matter whether it was the basics or the advanced, Riven enjoyed them all the same. They helped put her mind at ease, and kept her fighting clean and precise. Riven adjusted herself a few times as she went through stabbing and slashing the imaginary enemies in her exercise.

While she was practicing she could feel the presence of someone as they walked outside the back of Irelia's house. Riven guessed that it was Irelia, but wasn't sure since her eyes were closed. Occasionally Riven would practice with her eyes closed, it forced her to focus more and any mistakes that she made in her stances became all the more obvious. Whoever the observer was merely watched in silence, which was something that Riven appreciated. There was nothing that frustrated Riven more while practicing than for someone to interrupt or stop her part way through one of her sword forms. It became difficult to jump back into it once stopped, not because she lacked the ability to, but due to the fact that it was hard to mentally get back into the same trance like state it put her in.

As Riven opened up her eyes, she saw Irelia leaning against a tree in front of the back porch of Irelia's house watching her intently.

"I wasn't aware that Noxus put so much care into the martial arts of their soldiers." Irelia's voice was laced with curiosity.

Riven frowned a bit at the statement, "Only to those that showed strength."

Riven's statement was followed by a short silence, Irelia most likely figuring that she was going to say more. After a bit Irelia decided to speak up, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, well where did you learn to use your sword? Considering the size of that sword, it isn't something I think you would learn how to use in just a few months. With the ease and level of skill that you wield it with, you appear to have a few years' experience with it."

Riven looked down at her sword and spoke more to herself than Irelia, "How long have I had this sword? Six, no, maybe, seven years?"

"Riven?"

Riven looked up at Irelia as she took a seat in the grass, looking confused at Irelia.

"How old were you when you joined!?"

"I don't know, probably around when I became a teenager?"

As Riven looked at Irelia's face, she noticed the look of astonishment on the captain's face.

"No offense, but if you served so much time in the military why would Noxus want to hunt you down? I thought Noxians only had to serve for a decade? I don't know how old you are, but you are only two or three years older than I am. That would mean that your decade should almost be over, if not over already."

Riven shifted uncomfortably, not liking where the conversation was going.

"Let's just say that Noxus may not like the idea of their poster child defecting. Look, I still love Noxus and eventually I am going to return home and rid Noxus of the corruption that plagues it and return it to its former glory. I just have some things I have to take care of before I can do that." After she finished Riven cursed at herself for letting her emotions overcome her. She didn't like talking about Noxus or the past, especially to someone that wouldn't be able to understand her situation.

Riven continued, "Look, can we change the topic? I figure this particular conversation wasn't the reason that you came out here."

The look on Irelia's face told Riven that they would continue this conversation in the future, before it shifted to a slightly happier expression.

"I just wanted to let you know that I got our costumes for the Harrowing. I wanted you to try it on to make sure that it fits."

_Oh right, The Harrowing_. Riven thought to herself slightly worried about what the costumes were.

* * *

><p>A little while later<p>

_How did I get myself into this situation…?_ Riven thought to herself.

As Riven stared at herself in the mirror, she was surprised the outfit actually fit her. It was a little tighter than Riven would have preferred, but she was able to fit into it. Though that didn't mean that she liked it, Irelia had only given her a choice between two outfits.

There was only two things that Riven liked about the outfit: the first was the golden shoulder guard, which reminded her of her own. The second was that unlike Irelia's outfit, Riven actually was wearing pants instead of a skirt.

Riven looked down at her pants as she walked out to meet Irelia and thought._ What color is this anyway?_ The pants seemed to shift from white in the light to a dull but light blue whenever they were in the dark.

"You look nice." Irelia commented as Riven entered the room.

Riven huffed, "Noxians don't wear pink!" As she said this she motioned towards the pink top she was wearing, that had a front piece that traveled from her stomach all the way down to her knees. On the opposite side of her body, there was another piece of cloth in the shape of a flower that started from her lower back and went down the same length. "And what is with these sleeves? What is the point of sleeves that start at your elbows?" Riven continued as she motioned towards the golden bracers on her arms that had sleeves underneath that matched her pants.

"Oh yeah, don't forget about the jewelry." Irelia said as she walked over to a nearby table and picked something up out of Riven's view.

"What jewelry?" Riven questioned hesitantly.

As Riven answered Irelia walked over and placed a giant golden amulet around her neck. The amulet looked to Riven more like it belonged in Shurima rather than Ionia. After that Irelia put a golden head piece on her that had five white petals coming out of it.

"I look ridiculous," Riven said with a blank expression, "where did you even get this stuff anyway?"

Irelia looked away, dodging the question.

"I'm going to go try on my costume, be right back!" As Irelia said this she quickly left

"Wait, can I take this costume off!"

Riven was only met with silence as Irelia went into her room.

Riven had no idea how long it was before Irelia had come back, but it felt like forever just sitting in Irelia's living room waiting. She was going to get changed out of her costume, but couldn't when she realized that the room Irelia was changing in held her clothes.

As Irelia walked out the first thing that Riven noticed was the reason why she hadn't worn that costume. The deep purple dress snaked its way down from Irelia's hips to her calves, movement would have been nearly impossible if there wasn't a slit going down the side. The tank top that Irelia wore was a dull white except for around her chest which was a deep purple like the bottom of her dress. Riven barely noticed the purple heels that Irelia was wearing.

"So? What do you think?" Irelia asked as she turned so Riven could see her outfit better.

Riven merely pointed towards Irelia's arms and shoulders. After seeing this Irelia rolled her eyes, having an idea as to what Riven was going to say.

"What is the point of wearing a sleeveless shirt if you are just going to have sleeves on your shoulders and arms anyway? Why don't you just let them connect!?"

"Alright, I get it, you don't like some of our sleeve styles. What about the rest of the outfit?" Irelia asked again as she loosened the fabric from her shirt that looped up around her neck.

Riven shrugged her shoulders, "You look nice"

"Thanks, but don't you have any other descriptive words to use?" Irelia questioned

"Um….You look REALLY nice?" Riven wasn't quite sure what Irelia wanted her to say.

Irelia merely let out a sigh, "we are going to have to work on making you a bit more lady like."

Riven gulped, _I don't like the sound of that…_


	8. The Harrowing

**A/N: The Harrowing is finally here! Sorry for the late upload, but I wanted to make this chapter extra long since it was Syndra and Irelia's first meeting. Oh yeah, and plot things happen too.**

**Angels123 - I have someone in mind who I want to set Riven up with, though that will be further in the future. I have a plan for how I want to introduce them, it is just a matter of getting to that section of the story.**

**As always, leave a review! Let me know how I am doing so far, what you like/dislike about it, etc.**

* * *

><p>"You're late." Syndra said curtly, a slightly annoyed expression on her face. Zed was supposed to be at her fortress half an hour ago.<p>

"Yeah, yeah." Zed replied waving his hand dismissively, "I was busy."

Syndra scoffed at Zed's vague excuse, "I don't understand how someone who has this" As Syndra said this she motioned towards Zed's shadow portal, "could ever be late."

"Unlike you, I actually have things that need to be taken care."

Syndra continued, ignoring Zed's remark, "Seriously, anywhere you want to be, in an instant."

**_"She has a point you know." _**Zed's shadow chimed in with an upbeat, yet mocking tone.

"See, even your shadow agrees with me!"

"Since when do you take his side?" Zed responded surprised.

"Since he was actually here on time! How does your own shadow beat you here? I mean seriously, INSTANTANEOUS TRANSPORTATION." After saying this Syndra leaned in towards Zed and whispered, "by the way, your shadow is really bad at Ro Sham Bo."

**_"It's a stupid game anyway!" _**The shadow remarked.

Syndra patted the shadow on the back, "Don't be mad, I'm sure you will have better luck next time!"

"Whatever, I'm here now."

Syndra sighed, using her magic to push Zed towards the garden exit, "Just go get changed already, I'd like to get going soon."

* * *

><p>It was the day of The Harrowing, Irelia wasn't as exited for the holiday itself as she was excited to see all the citizens of Ionia coming to the Placidium and enjoying themselves together. Usually the Placidium was a relatively quiet place for people to conduct business, but today it was bustling with people. There were vendors everywhere for a various different things, there was food, games, Knick knacks, and much more scattered throughout the Placidium. At various places there was live shows and performances taking place that would go on all throughout the day and well into the night, which was when most of the fun was supposed to take place anyway. Irelia felt a little bit weird but slightly happy to be at the festival as just Irelia, and not as the captain of the guard. The last few years that she had been at the festival she was always watching from afar keeping the peace, rather than being an actual participant. It was rare that there was ever any issue's requiring the guards at a festival, since punishment was more severe during this time. The festival was meant to be a time of enjoyment and relaxation. Enemies were encouraged to set their differences aside, even if only for the day, to enjoy being around friends and family. Irelia couldn't remember the last time that she had someone to go to the festival with, this is why she usually ended up working during the time of the festival. Not this year though, hence why that she was so excited to participate in the festival. She and Riven had been at the festival for about two hours now, they had just gotten a snack at a vendor and were eating at a bench as they talked.<p>

"So what do you do at these festivals anyway? In Noxus we didn't do much other than dress up, so I am a bit lost." Riven asked Irelia before she took a bite of her food.

Irelia shrugged her shoulders, "Have fun with friends."

"That's it?" Riven replied.

"What more do you want?"

"Does it even have a purpose? Forgive my ignorance, but the holidays didn't have much of a place in Noxus' military."

"Of course! Long ago, and especially people around here, think that tonight is the night when dark spirits come to Runeterra to mess with its citizens. Some even think that creatures of the Shadow Isles leave their home to come visit the rest of the world." Irelia explained as Riven ate the treat Irelia had bought her.

"So why the festival, and the costumes? Wouldn't people want to hide away in their homes from these 'creatures'?" Riven asked skeptically.

Irelia shook her head, "Quite the opposite actually, people come together in hopes that the spirits won't bother them. As you probably noticed, Ionia is a pretty big and mountainous island. That is why we host the festival in the Placidium, so those that live out in the country don't have to be alone. That and it is just fun. I think that is why we exchange candy actually, so that even those who are particularly stubborn will come, if only for the sake of their children having fun and getting gifts."

"Alright, so that explains the festival, but why the costumes? You don't need costumes to have a festival." Riven questioned.

Irelia tapped her finger to her lip, thinking how she wanted to answer Riven's question. While Irelia knew a lot about The Harrowing, she had never met someone who didn't know a thing about it.

"For the spirits." Irelia answered.

"What do costumes have to do with spirits? Wouldn't that just draw more attention to yourself?" As Riven said this she lifted up her free arm looking at her costume to emphasize her statement.

"There are two types of costumes for The Harrowing. Light and dark costumes, light costumes like ours are used to ward off evil. Dark costumes like theirs," As Irelia said this she pointed towards a couple wearing dark costumes, "are used to confuse evil. Later on tonight when the main event is going on we will pair up with people who have dark costumes on and exchange gifts."

"I don't get it, how does this," Riven pointed at her costume as she said this "accomplish that?" A few seconds went by before Riven continued, "Wait, did you say gifts?"

Irelia chuckled at Riven, "Don't worry about it. I have you covered already for the gift, all you need to do is have fun."

Irelia got up and stretched out her cramped limbs, "Alright, enough education and loafing around. It is time for us to have some fun! Let's go check out one of the events that is going on!" As Irelia said this she grabbed Riven's wrist and pulled her along as she went towards one of the events.

* * *

><p>The cave was a few miles outside of the Placidium. While the sun outside was bright, the cave still had an unmistakable darkness to it. Sumona had been asked to gather a small band of mercenaries together from the camps around the area. The mercenaries were talking amongst themselves, mostly about their past misdeeds.<p>

Sumona positioned herself so all mercenaries could see her. Upon seeing her they slowly quieted down, curious as to why they had been summoned to a cold dark cave on the day of The Harrowing.

"Over a week ago we were tasked with ambushing and killing a group of Ionian officials and a Noxian deserter. We failed that task." Sumona spoke her words slowly and clearly.

There was grumbled responses among the mercenaries, but no one called Sumona out directly.

"I am here today to offer you a second chance. The Noxian deserter and her friend, a high ranking Ionian official, are at the festival. Go there, kill them, and you can still claim your reward."

A mercenary of medium build and size with no visible hair on his body, but a respectable amount of scars stepped forward.

"And what is stopping us from taking the reward from you 'ere and now?"

Sumona turned her head slightly to give a short, sarcastic glance to the darkness.

"Well for one, it isn't here."

"That may be true, but with all of us here and you being alone… I think that we could get the answer out of you." A wolfish grin crept onto the mercenary's face as he spoke this.

**_"Oh, but she's not alone." _**The shadow said as he stepped out of the darkness, **_"Though if you decided to get some answers from her that would mean that I would have to try and replace her, and I still need her so that's a no-go." _**As the shadow said this he wagged his finger for emphasis.

"And who would stop us? You?" As the mercenary said this he turned to the others, "What's a shadow and one little girl going to do to us? AHAHA"

Sumona winced, _he...is going to regret that. Hopefully not with his life. _Though the shadow didn't have a face, Sumona guessed that if it did that it would be grinning right now.

The shadow started walking towards the mercenary, **_"I was hoping you would say that."_**

The mercenary merely laughed, "What are you going to do to me, huh?"

**_"Look down, and you'll find out."_** The shadow replied nonchalantly as he pointed towards the floor.

The mercenary looked startled for a second before he glanced at his feet, and realized that he couldn't see them through the swirling darkness at his feet.

_Oh dear, please only be one, please only take one._

"What the 'ell is this! I can't get out!" The mercenary cried as he struggled, attempted to free himself. Unfortunately this only quickened the process of him sinking.

The other mercenaries backed away, uncomprehending and terrified at what was happening. No one dared to try and help the man, in fear of what would happen to them if they did.

"This ain't funny! Let me out of here, I was just makin' a joke. Let me free and we'll find your gals for you." He pleaded as the darkness was around his thighs.

**_"What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?"_**

_I'm going to regret this._ Sumona thought, "My liege, we need the mercenaries in place to set your plan in motion."

The shadow hummed. A few seconds later the mercenary was swallowed by the portal, only to be spat out from another portal that appeared on cave's ceiling.

**_"You heard the woman, now be gone with you all!"_**

After the shadow finished speaking, he disappeared into the darkness. With the shadows disappearance the small band of mercenaries marched out of the cave towards the Placidium.

Sumona let out a sigh of relief. _That went so much better than expected._

* * *

><p>"So you've returned? Ready for some more Ro Sham Bo?" Syndra asked as she got up, just finishing tending to some of the flowers in her garden.<p>

**_"Where is Zed?"_**

"What are you asking me for? Shouldn't you already know, I mean he is your other half."

**_"Right, yes of course."_** As the shadow said this he disappeared again. A few seconds later Syndra heard Zed yelp and then a loud crash.

"Don't do that!" Syndra heard Zed yell at his shadow.

"You better now have broken any of my stuff in there!" Syndra yelled towards her fortress.

"I can fix it!" Zed yelled back.

The shadow reappeared a few seconds later, **_"He will be out shortly."_**

"Thanks." Syndra replied satirically. After a few seconds Syndra raised her hands up in the standard Ro Sham Bo Form, with an inquiring look on her face.

The shadows shoulders went up and then dropped them low, in what Syndra assumed was his way of sighing. Then he raised his hands mirroring Syndra.

A few minutes later

"Oh, finally ready to go?" Syndra asked as Zed walked out with his costume on.

As Zed approaches Syndra he gestures his head towards the shadow, "What's wrong with him?"

The slightly annoyed expression Syndra had from Zed ignoring her question was changed to a sly grin. She raised her arms into the air and dramatically declared, "All fear Syndra the Ro Sham Bo warrior!"

"What….is wrong with you?" A few seconds later, "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know, can we go now?"

"We could have been gone an hour ago if you were on time." Syndra mumbled to herself.

"What was that!?" Zed questioned.

"Nothing!" Syndra said innocently, "Let's get going!"

With that Zed opened up a shadow portal leading them into an alley.

Syndra and Zed exited the alley way into the crowded streets. Lanterns in the shape of pumpkins were strung from the wires that ran from building to building, casting an eerie glow on the stalls below. The street vendors were all dressed up in various costumes ranging from beautiful to spooky to comical.

"Hey doesn't that guy's costume look like that one scarecrow that goes around scaring people? What's his name? Faddlestacks?" Syndra asked.

"Fiddlesticks?" Zed responded.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's Faddlestacks." Syndra said with confidence.

"Whatever, we aren't going near it anyway."

"Aww, but why-Oooohhh cookies!" Syndra squealed as she got distracted by dessert.

"What? Where!?" Zed cleared his throat, "I mean whatever."

"You know you want some." Syndra said with a grin as she pulled Zed towards the stall.

"Why, hello there. What kind of cookies can I interest you in?" The stall vendor asked.

The vendor was a tall man wearing a fuzzy blue outfit covering his entire body. Syndra didn't notice at first, but he appeared to have his son strapped to his back in a trashcan. The son was wearing something similar to his dad, except that his was green rather than blue. His stall contained several different kinds of cookies, each different type of cookie was shaped in its own spooky way.

"There are so many! Um…I think I will try that kind." As Syndra said this she pointed to a cookie that was shaped like a bat.

"Peanut butter chocolate chip? Good choice!" The baker said as he handed Syndra a bag of cookies. "A lovely choice, for the lovely couple."

Syndra put her hand up in a mock gagging motion, after this Zed chimed in, "we are not a couple!"

"Oh, forgive me. When I saw the complimentary outfits I just assumed that you were together. Well now I know. Forgive my faux pas, here as a token of apology have the bag of cookies on the house."

Syndra tore open the bag and started eating one of the cookies, as she took a bite she let out a groan of pleasure. "This is amazing, I can't believe how chewy it is!"

Upon hearing this Zed grabbed one of the cookies from the bag, up until this point he was trying to look disinterested. "I'll be the judge as to if they are amazing or not." Syndra watched as Zed ate the cookie, curious as to if he would like it or not. Part of her hoped that he didn't so he wouldn't steal any more of her cookies, but his expression after a few seconds told her otherwise.

"How did you make this so chewy, yet still have it maintain its shape with all the peanut butter and chocolate?" Zed asked.

Syndra lost interest and walked away as Zed started to talk to the baker about how magnificent his cookies were. She chose instead to divert her attention to the other stalls around her and the various people in costumes. Syndra didn't find any one thing particularly interesting until she was about done her bag of cookies.

_How long is he going to take, I didn't come here for him to talk about cookies-Hello, what do we have here?_

The object of her attention was a woman who was walking by with her friend. Syndra didn't pay much attention to the second woman though, she was more interested in the one closest to her.

_Now isn't she a cutie? _Syndra purred, _purple suits her very well, though she could do showing some more skin. _Syndra thought as she tapped her lip.

Syndra walked back over to Zed, keeping an eye on the two as she did. When she got to him she grabbed another set of cookies, dropped the money onto the table, and then grabbed Zed by a piece of his clothing and dragged him away from the baker.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zed asked. When Zed realized she wasn't going to stop, he yelled back at the baker, "Keep in touch!"

Syndra finally let go of Zed once she had gotten him to a slightly secluded area where she could still keep an eye on the woman. Luckily for Syndra, she and her friend had stopped at a stall for a little while.

"What was that about? We were having a decent conversation!" Zed questioned.

"Yeah, yeah. I know I don't do this often, but I need a favor."

"This entire weekend is a favor, how about whenever you need groceries, or-" As Zed was talking, Syndra zoned him as she refocused on the woman she was staring at earlier.

Syndra zoned back into Zed's rant a minute later as he continued, "Or how about when I had to get you those maps of the entire island! Those weren't easy to find you know!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. This is different though, I need help."

"Yeah you do." Zed muttered

Syndra ignored the comment, "I need you to help me get a date with that woman," Syndra pointed over at the stall she was at, "but she has a friend. So I need you to keep her preoccupied."

Syndra watched as Zed blinked repeatedly for a few seconds, before he was finally able to mutter "Wait, what?"

"Soooooooooo, can you help me? I'm going for this one way or another."

"You've finally done it, I didn't think it was possible for you to confuse me anymore than you already have, but somehow you found a way. I'm just going to go back and talk to that baker, we have some unfinished business regarding macadamia nuts to talk about." With that, Zed started to walk away.

Syndra watched as Zed tried to walk away, _silly Zed, you can't walk away from me._ She used her magic to lift Zed off the ground slightly, dragged him with her as she walked towards the stall, and gently threw Zed into the woman's friend. They bumped into each other, but both of them caught themselves before they fell to the ground. Zed shot a glare back to Syndra, and she merely chuckled to herself in response as she walked up to them.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Please forgive my friend, he can be a bit clumsy sometimes." After saying this she extended her hand towards the woman in the purple dress, "I'm Syndra by the way."

"It's okay, accidents happen." After saying this she accepted Syndra's handshake, "I'm Irelia by the way, and this is Riven." As she said the latter she gestured towards the woman next to her.

"Nice to meet you Irelia, Riven." Syndra said politely, then her tone changed to be slightly disinterested as she said, "Oh yeah, and that's Zed."

Zed raised his hand up, "Hi."

"So, what were you two looking at?" Syndra inquired.

"We were looking at the stall vendor's display of weapons, my friend's sword is broken so she needs a new one." Irelia responded.

"Do not, my great sword is a symbol of great power given to me by-" Riven faked a cough, her cheeks turning slightly red. "I mean it is fine, I'm the one who broke it anyway."

Syndra looked as Irelia gave her a skeptical look. _Crud, don't tell me they are already dating._

"So…How do you two know each other?"

The two women looked at one another, they both wore an uncertain expression.

"Um…She came here from out of town for some work, so I am giving her a place to stay while she is here." Irelia answered.

Syndra cursed to herself internally, "You two live together then? So how does that work, do you guys share a room or what?"

Syndra shot Zed a quick glare as he jabbed her with his elbow into her arm right as she finished her question.

Riven's face looked calm as she started to say something, but quickly turned to shock when Irelia interrupted her before she could speak. Irelia's cheeks were a bright red as she spoke, "No, no, no, no. Nothing like that, we each have our own rooms."

Syndra sighed internally, _well that makes this a lot less complicated._

Riven looked at Irelia and then back over to Syndra and Zed, slightly perplexed. "So how do you two know each other?"

"Long story. You don't wanna know, I wish I didn't." Zed responded. He sounded exhausted just talking about it.

"Anyway," Syndra turned to Irelia, "I love your costume, especially the purple. Did you make it, or buy it?"

"Neither, I actually borrowed it from a friend." Irelia stated.

"Wait, what? Who?" Riven frantically asked.

"Do not worry about it, we only borrowed them for the night. I will return them tomorrow, and I left a note just in case they noticed!" Irelia said sounding chipper.

_She's almost as bad as I am. Almost._

Irelia continued, "What about you two?"

As she asked, Syndra noticed Zed stiffen a little bit out of the corner of her eye.

"I made them both myself!" Syndra declared proudly.

"Wow. That is impressive, where did you get the material from?"

Syndra cursed to herself, _why did I open my big mouth. _Syndra was surprised when by some miracle Zed actually interjected himself into the conversation.

"We actually came pretty far, so it isn't anywhere that you would know. Instead of standing around jibber jabbing why don't we go grab some food? Riven would you like to grab some cookies?"

"I didn't think about it, but I wouldn't mi-ahh" Riven was interrupted as Zed put his arm through hers and walked back towards the baker. As he was walking away, Syndra noticed Zed shoot a look back at her. Even from behind his mask Syndra knew what it was, 'you owe me.'

* * *

><p>Irelia and Syndra were now awkwardly left alone by Zed and Riven. Irelia felt mystified, not only by Syndra's sudden random appearance but also by a nagging feeling that she had seen Syndra somewhere before.<p>

Irelia's concentration was broken when Syndra started dragging her away, "Where are we going?"

"To look around and talk so we can get to know each other better, of course!"

"Wait, but what about our friends? How will we find them?" Irelia asked.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Zed's pretty good at finding people, well for the most part. Worst case scenario we just search all the food stalls."

"Does he really like food that much?" Irelia questioned.

"Food? No. Cooking? Yes." Syndra responded disinterested.

Syndra continued, "But enough about him, let's get to know each other better!"

"Okay? Where are we going again?" Irelia asked.

"Good question, do you know anywhere around here that has cute things?" Syndra paused for a few seconds, "Well, besides you."

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing!" Syndra chimed in with an innocent look on her face, "Cute things where?"

"Oh, right. Well there's a stall over there that is selling stuffed animals and pictures of these fluffy creatures that inhabit the Freljord." Irelia said as she pointed to a far off stall.

Syndra and Irelia made their way over towards the stall, as soon as Syndra caught a glimpse of the fluffy creatures she bolted towards the stall with Irelia in tow.

After Irelia recovered from Syndra nearly yanking her arm off, she noticed the expression on Syndra's face. She was completely entranced with the cuteness of the Freljordian creatures.

"Oh my….they are so cute! SQUUUUUEEEE!"

Syndra was entranced with the various cute creatures. She picked up one of the medium sized stuff animals and after feeling how soft it was, started rubbing it against her face, "They are so soft! Feel it Irelia!" As Syndra said this she pushed the stuffed animal into her arms.

"Why yes, yes it is. They are called poros. They are mainly found in the Freljord." As Irelia finished she was distracted by the fact that almost everyone around them had disappeared.

"Even their names are cute! Talk more about these poros!" Syndra demanded.

A feeling of pride welled up in Irelia's chest at the request, _finally! Another scholarly person interested in the pursuit of knowledge!_

Meanwhile, in Syndra's mind

_I must figure out a way that I can acquire one as a pet, while I'm here I might as well get some stuffed animals for my bed. I know a good spot to put two giant poros. I wonder if this vendor has any good artwork of poros…I wonder if I could convince Zed or Irelia to make a trip to this Freljord so I can see them up close._

Back in the Real World

Irelia closed her eyes and raised one arm up and put the other across her chest, as she prepared to teach Syndra about poros. "Well poros are known to be very adaptable to a variety of harsh climates. They have been found in the Shadow Isles, volcanoes, and various other places! Though if you ask me, the poros from the Freljord are the cutest."

After Irelia finished she noticed a group of people gathered off to the side. _ That's odd, I wonder if something's going on over there? Though they are all guys and none of them are dressed up._

Irelia diverted her attention back to Syndra. "Do those people look suspicious to you? They don't look like they are here for the festival. Syndra?"

Irelia put her hand on her forehead, _she is completely entranced with those poros. She wasn't kidding when she said she liked cute things._

When Irelia looked back she saw the group of men walking towards them. When she noticed this she cursed to herself, _I don't like the look of this._ Upon them getting closer she noticed that they had weapons hidden poorly under their cloaks. After seeing this she instinctually reached for the blades on her back, unfortunately for her they weren't there.

_Oh, let's leave our weapons at home. It will be fine. All you will do is scare people, and there won't be anywhere that has a weapon!_ Irelia recalled a mock conversation she had with herself a few hours ago.

As they surrounded the two women, Irelia put herself between Syndra and the mercenaries. Syndra, who had still been distract by poros up until this point, just realized that something was happening around her.

A bald man with lots of scars stepped forwards, "So we finally found you two. We've been meaning to pay you back Irelia for that incident at the campsite, and don't think we forgot about you Riven."

"Who are these guys? They're not friends of yours right? And why is he calling me Riven?" Syndra asked, an inquiring look on her face.

"Not quite friends, don't worry about it. Just stay behind me, I will protect you."

Irelia cursed internally, _How am I going to do this. I don't know if I can beat this many armed mercenaries barehanded. _Irelia was trained in hand to hand combat and fighting people bare handed who had weapons, and she was quite proficient at it, but fighting this many people was tricky. Normally she would just run away, take one out and steal his weapon, and then pick them off one by one. This was a little different though, she doubted that Syndra had the stamina to keep up with running away from this many mercenaries. Not that Irelia would want to chance it even if she did, not without knowing she could take care of herself. Otherwise she would be taking the chance of Syndra getting overwhelmed by herself.

"Mmm, as tempting of an offer as that sounds I think I'll pass. I'll stand right here next to you, I can take care of myself."

Irelia looked at her bewildered, "No offense, but even if you can fight, I think these guys are a little big for you." As Irelia said this a mercenary threw an axe towards Syndra, without thinking Irelia pulled her out of the way as it crashed into the stall behind them. When it landed it destroyed many of the stuffed animals on top of it. The mercenaries laughed at the senseless destruction.

Irelia saw Syndra look back at the destruction out of the corner of her eye. A few seconds later Syndra spoke up again, "On second thought, you stand behind me. I'll take care of this." Irelia was going to protest, but the mixture of rage and annoyance on Syndra's face told her that she should listen to her, even if it was only for a little bit.

After saying this Syndra turned towards the mercenaries in front of her. A few of the mercenaries made some off colored remarks about her costumes as she did so. Syndra ignored their remarks, instead she reached inside a pouch on her hip and took out a coin.

The bald mercenary, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up. "Alright boys, let's get this over with and get home to claim our prize!" As he finished saying this the mercenaries all charged at them at once, and as soon as they moved Syndra flipped the coin in the air.

Irelia tensed up when they moved, but when she looked over at Syndra she still wore her angry expression but displayed no sense of fear.

As they got closer, three dark spheres appeared out of nowhere on the ground.

_What the? _Irelia thought.

A few seconds later the spheres went flying into the mercenaries. Three of them went flying back as the spheres caught them in the stomach. Suddenly the mercenary on the farthest right side was picked up in the air and went flying into one of his allies on the opposite side. After seeing this the mercenaries stopped their charge and looked at one another, seemingly bemused on what they should do.

Syndra lifted her hand up and made a beckoning motion with it, the three remaining mercenaries were puzzled at this motion. Irelia noticed a smirk come across Syndra's face as the three spheres she sent out earlier came flying back to her, hitting the mercenaries along the way. As the last of the mercenaries fell to the ground, Irelia heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. When she looked over she saw the coin Syndra had flipped had just now hit the ground. When Irelia redirected her attention to Syndra she saw the three spheres were now floating around her upper body, though they had shrunk significantly in size.

"What's the matter? I thought I did pretty well." Syndra commented as she turned back towards Irelia.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second. So you're THAT Syndra?" Irelia choked out.

"Mmmmm, maaaayyyybbbeeee. Gotta say, no one here has actually recognized me before, so you're the first!" As she finished speaking, she patted Irelia on the back.

"Why does that not make me feel any better…?"

The sound of metal clamoring against the ground filled the air, "Syndra, we have to get you out of here." Irelia didn't even let her respond before she pulled Syndra away towards an alley.

"Wait, where are we going? Oooh are we going to run away some place romantic together?"

Irelia looked at Syndra, beyond baffled at what she had just said. Before Irelia could speak up, the area around them turned to pitch black and she felt a hand be placed over her mouth as she was pulled backwards into the darkness. When she woke up she found that she was on top of a building, overlooking the area that they were just in, but out of view from the soldiers running around below.

"I can't take you anywhere can I? You should have guessed that someone would tip off the guards." As Zed said this he to a plethora of guards searching the area below them, asking people what had happened.

**_"I thought that it was a stunning performance personally." _**The shadow chimed in.

"Did that shadow just talk? Is no one else going to question that?" Irelia asked.

Syndra was the one to speak up, "You get used to it, don't worry he's harmless."

"Or you can just ignore him like I do."

**_"No you don't!"_**

"Oh, wait. That's Syndra I ignore, never mind."

"Hey!"

After a bit it dawned on Irelia that someone was missing, "Wait, where's Riven at?"

"Oh her? She's over there sleeping, she seemed pretty happy to get away from the festival." Zed answered as he pointed towards a sleeping Riven.

"You better not have done anything to her when she was sleeping." Irelia growled.

Zed was about to speak but Syndra beat him to it, "Don't worry, he won't make any moves, believe me. The most he will do is yell at you, something to do with showing too much skin? I don't remember, I usually just zone him out."

"And you wonder why I ignore you?"

Syndra merely huffed in response.

Irelia looked back over towards Riven, and then over to Zed and Syndra, _What have I gotten myself into…?_


	9. Attempting to Educate Syndra

**A/N: Part two of the Harrowing! Plot and fluff, fluff and plot.**

**This chapter was a bit longer than I thought it was going to be, but I don't think you guys mind. This is the first chapter in a little while that I haven't done any plot foreshadowing in. Did I forget to mention that I have been dropping plot hints in the previous chapters? :)**

**If you think you figured some of them out, feel free to let me know in a review! Or if you want to discuss it further you can send me a pm and I will answer questions. Also still let me know what you liked and what needs to be improved upon.**

** Guest 1 - Aside from Riven sleeping, that is a good guide for the entire story so far. They are like a big family, Zed and Syndra are the arguing siblings, the shadow is the dad that likes to mess with everyone, and Irelia is the awkward girlfriend who has no idea what is going on/how to act.**

** Guest 2 - ****Thank you :) I try, my original goal was to have 1.5k words per chapter. Ha if only I knew, I'm getting to the point where I'm lucky if I only use 3k. I'm happy that I have been able to keep updating every Sunday :D**

** Glitzh - Syndra gets what Syndra wants, and right now she wants Irelia and she isn't going to stop till she gets her. There also may be a few surprises for both of them along the way :D. This chapter may change your point of view on Syndra a bit, but that is me more fleshing out that Syndra is...different. I wouldn't imagine with her upbringing that she would properly grasp, how relationships work and social etiquette.**

**P.S. Syndra has no people skills, at all. At least here, and I'll be darned if I'm not going to exploit it. Riven hopes she can fix it, but she may accidentally give Syndra multiple idea's of things she can do to Irelia in the process.**

* * *

><p>"What were you doing using your magic in public like that!?" Zed scolded.<p>

"What? They were just some thugs, besides they DESTROYED my cute and adorable poros!" Syndra defended.

"What's a poro? Never mind, you broke our deal when you did that, so I'm going home."

"What deal?"

"You know, the one where I said if you draw too much attention to us, you'd be on your own. So guess what? I'm out!" Zed declared dramatically as he created a shadow portal.

"But, but, we were doing stuff together, and then these bad guys came outta nowhere, and I totally kicked their butts. You can't leave! Wait, why didn't I want you to leave again?" Syndra tapped her finger against her chin thinking, "Ah, whatever just go." As Syndra said this she used her magic to push Zed through the shadow portal.

Syndra turned to Irelia with a seductive smile on her face, "So Irelia, what do you want to do now that we are all alone?" Syndra leaned in towards Irelia, "Hmmmm?"

"Uhhhhhhhh, we aren't alone though, Riven's still here." Irelia responded uncomfortably.

"No I'm not." Riven declared as she rolled over in her sleep.

"How long were you pretending to be asleep!?" Irelia yelled, "Better question, did you fake it to make Zed carry you?"

"Aren't his biceps wonderful pillows? Well, that is what I would say, IF HE'D EVER FREAKEN CARRY ME WHEN I FALL ASLEEP IN MY GARDEN'S TREE!" Syndra raged.

"Wait, how did you end up falling asleep in a tree?" Irelia questioned.

Syndra nervously pushed her index fingers together, "Welllllllllll, I was meditating, but I meditated too good and accidentally ended up floating myself right into a tree. After that I was too tired to get down, so I just stayed there for the night. I was awoken by Zed laughing at me for sleeping in the tree."

Irelia looked at Syndra bewildered, "How….did you manage to float into a tree?"

"I was meditating of course, silly."

"How does meditating equal floating?"

"Doesn't everyone float when they meditate?"

Riven sat up, and exchanged a glance with Irelia. Then they both turned to Syndra and responded, "No."

"Huh, really? How boring." As she said this Syndra got a devious look in her eye, "Do you want to know what it's like to float when you meditate?" Syndra sat cross legged and started floating. She patted her lap, "Come join me and find out!"

Irelia blushed profusely, while Riven crossed her arms and put one hand on her chin, as if she was contemplating the offer.

Seeing this Syndra added, "Sorry Riven, but this offer is for Irelia only."

Irelia blushed some more, but Riven took no time in launching herself into Syndra's lap, declaring, "Too bad!"

This caught Syndra off-guard and she lost her balance, sending both of them crashing to the ground. When Syndra hit the ground, the mask in her hair fell out. With the mask knocked away, the hair that was hidden underneath was freed and it draped down onto her shoulders. As Syndra began to pick herself up, she looked up at Irelia and grinned.

Seeing this caused images from Irelia's dream flooded back into her mind.

_That smile…that hair…wait, does that mean that my dream actually meant something?_

"Wait, you have long hair?" Irelia asked.

"Yep! I prefer it that way, besides it's pretty hard to find someone willing to cut your hair when most of the country is terrified of you. Anyway, enough about me," Syndra leaned in towards Irelia, "why were those guys after you?"

Irelia leaned back slightly from Syndra, uncomfortable with Syndra's closeness. As she leaned back she lightly scratched her cheek, _how much should I tell her? She did protect me, not that I couldn't do it myself. It was a government mission, but she was put in danger so I should give her some kind of explanation. Well, sort of put in danger, she did single handedly take them all out._ While Irelia was internally debating with herself, and Syndra blocking her view, she didn't even notice that Riven had gotten up.

"Irelia? What is Syndra talking about?" Riven asked in a distinctly annoyed but questioning tone.

Irelia laughed nervously, _Right. I totally forgot that she was asleep._

Syndra leaned back from Irelia and diverted her attention to Riven. Irelia sighed as she received her personal space back.

Syndra took a deep breath, "Well, Irelia and I were looking at some cute poros, then some men came up to us, called me you, and destroyed the poro stand!" Syndra said quickly.

"Ugh…care to translate Irelia? I didn't quite catch that."

Irelia sighed, and with a clear voice said, "We were at one of the market stalls browsing, and some men came up to us. They seemed like they were a part of the group of mercenaries that we saw in Navori, somehow they knew my name and mistook Syndra for you."

"What! Why didn't you tell me earlier!?" As Riven said this she quickly inspected Irelia for any damage.

"Well, you were asleep so I forgot that you didn't know…Besides Syndra dealt with them easily enough anyway."

"What?" Riven looked at Syndra, "Her? She's a twig, what could someone like her do?"

Syndra crossed her arms and huffed, "Does no one in Ionia know who I am?"

"Sorry, but I only know two people in this country." Riven turned to Irelia, "Anyway, we should try and track them down, and finish what we started. I don't like leaving a job incomplete."

Irelia nodded, knowing that arguing with Riven would be pointless. She also had to admit to herself that she wanted to properly complete their mission. Failures were not something that Irelia would tolerate if she could do something about it.

Syndra looked between Irelia and Riven, slightly bored and confused, "Anyone care to explain to me what you guys are talking about?"

"We will explain later Syndra, I am going to go to the dungeon quarters. If anyone survived they would be there. I don't know how much information I will be able to get out of them though." Irelia added.

Riven crossed her arms, "Just interrogate them, getting information out of someone is easy if you give them enough incentive."

"I'm not going to hurt them, we don't do things the same way here the way you did them in Noxus." Irelia responded curtly.

Riven grinned, "Maybe you won't, but if you let me take care of it I can get them to talk."

"No! I will not allow us to stoop down to their level, besides if word got out that we tortured someone, even a mercenary, it would be bad for our public image. As a Noxian in Ionia you need all the help you can get to maintain a positive image." Irelia retorted.

"Fine, but we have no leads so I hope for both of our sakes that you can get something."

This time is was Syndra's turn to grin as she wrapped an arm around Irelia's shoulder, "I think I can help you get the information," Syndra's voice took on a chipper tone, "and I promise that I won't physically harm them at all!"

Riven's face was filled with skepticism, "And what can you do? No offence, but I don't see why they would be scared enough of you to betray their allies."

_These two are going to kill one another eventually if I don't stop them…_

Irelia chimed in, "Riven, can you get us some horses we can use for transportation?"

"Yeah, yeah. If you don't have a destination for us by the time we get back we are doing things my way though."

Syndra took her arm off of Irelia and motioned towards the east, "We can use my floating fortress! Or how about Zed's shadow portals!?"

Riven and Irelia turned to Syndra confused.

Riven spoke up first, "What floating fortress?"

"And what shadow portals?"

"Yeah, I have my own fortress that I use my magic to float!" Syndra floated up a bit in the air, "Kind of like me when I meditate, or when I don't feel like walking." Syndra leaned in towards Irelia and Riven whispering, "Don't tell Zed, but that is pretty much whenever he isn't around."

"Wait, what? What do you mean shadow portals? Is that how we got to the rooftop so quickly?"

"Yeah! Zed uses them all the time! I can't believe he doesn't want me floating! I've always thought that it was hypocritical of him since he uses them for EVERYTHING! Something about keeping my leg muscles strong, but I think he is just jealous he can't fly. 'Oh look at me I'm the Master of the Shadows I can use Shadow Portals! But I can't float or actually get anywhere on time when it's important to Syndra!'"

Irelia put her hands up in a stopping gesture, "Wait, THAT Zed was the one that destroyed the Kinkou order? The Master of Shadows Zed? He seemed so…normal…Ish?"

Riven complained, "What, is he an evil baker? All he talked about the whole time was cookies with this one stall vendor. Something about Macadamias? I was bored the entire time, he barely even gave me a passing glance, let alone try anything." Her tone changed to one of admiration, "Damn shame too…He had some nice biceps, and you're right Syndra, they do make for some great pillows."

"Why would he try anything? He's Zed, he doesn't do anything fun, he's all 'Oh don't do this it scares the general public, do you want another thousand guards coming to your fortress, Stop flinging my ninjas they don't land well, or Ahhh put some clothes on! I'm blind'" Syndra ranted. "Wait...do? That's not fair! Why do you get to be carried and not me!"

Irelia looked at Syndra stupefied, "We are talking about the same Zed right? He's killed people you know, and brought chaos back to Ionia when we finally got peace again. Wait, he's seen you naked?"

"Really? He didn't do anything? No glances, no 'oh I accidentally tripped and conveniently fell into your boobs?'" Riven inquired. "Also, technically he flung me over his shoulder like a sack of flour, BUT I still felt his pillowy biceps."

"Wait? That actually would work? Hmm…interesting."

As Syndra said this Irelia swore she saw Syndra give her a calculating glance.

"No walking in on you when you are changing? Or when you conveniently just got out of the shower?" Riven continued.

"Well he has walked in on me while I was changing, though he immediately dropped to the floor and curled into a ball and cried 'My eyes! My eyes!'"

Riven looked at Syndra blankly and shook her head, "That's not a good indication that he likes you like that…"

Syndra had a face of shock, "What do you mean like me like that?"

"You know love? Don't you want a relationship with him or something like that?"

"Eww, no. Why would I want him to love me? Don't get me wrong, he isn't a bad guy, but I don't like him any more than a friend."

Upon hearing this Irelia felt a slight sense of relief. _Why does that make me feel relieved! I don't understand, I mean it's good that she isn't in love with a murderer. Though she isn't much better overall…I think?_

As Irelia was debating with herself internally, Riven kept talking, "So why do you let him see you naked? Doesn't that bother you?"

Syndra looked at Riven with an expression of genuine incomprehension, "Why would him seeing me naked bother me?"

A look of understanding dawned on Riven's face, "Do you live alone?"

"Yeah! For most of my live actually!" Syndra said more proudly than she probably should have.

Riven put a hand on Syndra's shoulder, "When people live together, you learn about this thing called public decency. People aren't supposed to see someone of the opposite gender naked unless they are married, or at least in a relationship."

"Why? Wait, opposite gender you say? What about same gender?" Syndra asked quizzically.

"Because…you know…umm…Irelia? Can you help me out?" Irelia's only response was her face turning beat red, "Well….guys and gals you know, have different….parts."

"Yeah I know, I saw them in a textbook. I wasn't impressed."

"Well…when people are not related, it is embarrassing to see other people's parts. At least of the opposite gender, same gender tends to vary from person to person."

"But my master wasn't related to me, and he saw me. Wait, same gender is okay you say…" Syndra gave Irelia a quick, what she could only think of as predatory glance.

"SOMETIMES it's okay! But only with the other person's permission." At that Syndra seemed to slump, "But how old were you when you went to your master's temple?"

Syndra seemed to think, "Um…probably around seven…ish?"

"Well there you go, he was probably helping you get dressed and take baths then."

"So how does it make it okay since he wasn't related to me?"

"Simple, he was acting as your father. He was a father figure to you right?"

Abruptly, Syndra decided to change the subject, "So what does this mean for Zed?"

"Well, judging by his overreaction, I'd say he views you as more of a little sister. I had a friend, Katarina, in Noxus whose relationship with her adopted brother was fairly similar. Except, instead of nonchalantly brushing off seeing her naked, like you did with Zed, Talon was met with a volley of daggers at even the possibility of him seeing her naked."

"Now isn't that a bit harsh? I mean it seems more embarrassing for the guys, at least with how Zed acts."

"Normal people don't like others seeing them naked without permission, well not that Kat was normal." Riven finished affectionately.

"Huh. So does that mean that Zed is my big brother?" Syndra commented in an oddly soft tone. "Weird." She deadpanned.

"I feel like we've really gotten off topic." Interjected Irelia.

"Well we've got to set Syndra straight before any mishaps happen." replied Riven after giving her a pointed glance that clearly said, _Let me fix this. For your Sake._

Nervously Irelia responded, "Ahaha… that is true, but still we only have so much time before the mercenaries are questioned by the guards, and they talk about a woman with magic who defeated them."

"Okay! So how are we getting to the dungeon?" Syndra questioned.

_Oh, right, how am I getting one of Ionia's Most Wanted into the heavily guarded dungeon without getting her arrested? Or worse, without deciding to blow everything up in an attempt to 'protect' me?_

Irelia watches Syndra as she begins to pester Riven with more questions on public indecency, and whether or not she thinks that Zed really does see her as a little sister.

_Speaking of sisters, if Syndra puts her hair back up, she and Riven could pass as each other. Wait…_

"Riven before you go, I need you to do me a favor."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Switch costumes with Syndra."

"Yeah sure…wait WHAT!?"

* * *

><p>Syndra followed Irelia as she led her towards the Placidium's dungeon quarters. Syndra was impressed with how clean the dungeon actually was, if Syndra didn't know any better she would say that they were in a castle. The lighting was actually pretty decent too, nothing like the dungeons that were described in most of her novels.<p>

Syndra huffed, "Why do I have to wear this frilly PINK outfit again?"

"Good job acting like Riven! Keep it up and getting you into the dungeon will be easy. Just try not to talk to the guards too much, if any of them actually know Riven than they may question your voice."

"How did Riven fit into this anyway? This fits me pretty well, and she is about a head taller than me. It's a good thing that I made my outfit with a lot of room for shoulders and legs, she probably would have been pushed out otherwise."

"Yes, I'm expecting her to return home and change first." After finishing this, Irelia stopped and glanced around a corner before continuing, "Okay, we are getting close to the holding quarters that the mercenaries would most likely be held at. Let me do all the talking, at least till we are alone with the prisoner. Then you can work your magic."

"Ha, a magic joke, no one ever does those around me…No I'm serious, you're the first person. I don't talk to many people, even less that actually talk back without screaming."

"Just…let me do the talking. Just stand back and look disinterested, like Riven."

"Zed says that me talking is why we never get to go to nice places. And me blowing things up, BUT it is totally not my fault, they started it."

"I'm not sure if Zed is the best or worst thing to happen to this country…at least regarding you."

Syndra looked at Irelia confused, "What do you mean?"

"Oh look the guards, I am going to go talk to them, please stay here and look pretty." With that Irelia left Syndra to stay in the corridor.

"You think I'm pretty!?" Syndra asked, but Irelia was already gone. _She thinks I'm pretty_, Syndra thought to herself gratified.

After a few moments a guard walked by Syndra, "Oh, hi Riven, nice costume. That outfit looks like something Duchess Karma would wear. Anyway I would love to talk, but Captain Irelia has some important tasks for me." The guard said proudly, walking away without waiting for a response.

"That was rude, doesn't anyone give Riven a chance to speak around here?" Syndra mumbled to herself.

"Not really, Noxians are not exactly welcomed around here right now." Irelia said as she walked back around the corner.

Syndra jumped, surprised by Irelia. Irelia made a motion for Syndra to follow her after Syndra recovered from her scare. When Syndra rounded the corner she saw cells lining the walls.

"So, where's the guys we are looking for?" Syndra asked as she continued to follow Irelia.

"Thankfully, they are all close to each other on the left down here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the keys since I am technically off duty, so you will have to make do without entering the cell."

Syndra shrugged her shoulders, "I wasn't planning on going in there anyway."

"That is probably the only reason I am letting you do this, if you were anyone else I would not allow this."

A brilliant smile crossed Syndra's face as she came up behind Irelia giving her a hug and putting her head over Irelia's shoulder rubbing her face against hers, "So you're saying I'm special!"

Syndra enjoyed the moment as Irelia was seemingly confused as to what was happening to her, before it was interrupted by a husky mocking voice. "Now don't you two make a cute couple?"

Syndra turned towards the voice after releasing Irelia from her grip, "You think so!"

Irelia turned towards Syndra, "Now is not the time. We need to focus on why we came here."

"Hmph, I liked it better when you were blushing and confused. You were cuter that way, not that you aren't cute now, but if you want to be frowny and cute you have to pout like this." After saying this Syndra made a pouting face.

Irelia sighed, slightly blushing, "Can you please get the information from him? I would prefer to not have you down here longer than necessary."

_She's so sweet caring about my safety, alright Syndra lets make Irelia proud and get that information! Wait, what information am I supposed to be getting again? Ah, whatever, details._

Syndra cracked her knuckles,_ Ow…._ Syndra thought to herself.

"So you're going to answer any of Irelia's questions, otherwise you'll answer to me! Trust me, you don't want to answer to me."

"Please lady, you won't believe the stuff I have had to go through this past week. There's nothing you can do that will top it."

Syndra tapped her finger to her cheek, "I doubt that, I mean I'm part of the reason you're here. I kicked your butt out there pretty easily, and have no qualms about doing it again."

Irelia leaned towards Syndra and whispered, "Remember Syndra, no property damage."

Syndra whispered back, "I know that, but he doesn't…Hey Irelia."

"What?"

"Nuzzle, nuzzle." As Syndra said this she nuzzled Irelia's nose and cheek with her own.

Syndra pulled away quickly, enjoying Irelia's embarrassment, "Ah, this is a great night. Alright about that information," As Syndra said this she summoned a dozen dark spheres, willing them into the cell underneath the prisoner. With a snap of her fingers the orbs popped the man into the air, consistently juggling him in a circular motion.

After a few minutes and dozens of screams from the prisoner, Irelia asked, "Aren't you going to ask him any questions?"

Syndra hesitated before responding innocently, "I…actually don't know what to ask him."

Irelia pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head back and forth, "Alright, I'll ask him, can you put him down for a moment?"

"Are you sure? I was just about to get him into an alley oop?"

"What does that even mean? Never mind, yes put him down, at least for now."

Syndra called the spheres back to her after popping him up in the air one last time. The prisoner landed with a thud and a groan.

"Why were you and your band after us at the festival tonight?" Irelia questioned.

With a groan he responded, "We were summoned to a cave by a woman. She offered us a hefty sum of gold if we could kill you two."

Syndra thought to herself, _How blind are these people to keep confusing me for Riven?_

"Who is this woman?"

"We don't know, all I know is that she's backed by a very powerful man. I didn't ask too many questions. If you want to survive in this line of work you do what you're told, without asking too much."

"How many more bands of mercenaries are out there?"

The man laughed, "You ever wonder why you never heard of Noxian ships sailing away after the war? They didn't want us back. To them we were failures. If anyone wanted back they had to swim and pray they didn't get executed upon returning."

"You mean the entire Noxian army is hidden throughout Ionia's mountain ranges?"

"Just the grunts, at least those of us that survived."

"Where are they hiding at? How many are left?"

"Sorry lady, but that's all I got. I told you I don't ask too many questions, I just do as I'm told. How do you think I made it this far?"

The prisoner then fell silent, refusing to speak anymore.

Syndra turned to Irelia, "Want me to juggle him some more Irelia?"

"No, I don't think we are getting anything more out of him. Let's head back to my house and regroup."

Syndra started to follow Irelia out of the dungeon, as they were walking she heard Irelia mumble under her breath.

"I hope Riven had better luck than we did."


	10. Sarrows of the past

**A/N: This chapter ended up a lot more tragic than I expected it to be. Sorry! I actually had to cut it short since I ended up at 4.5k words with three scenes to go. Hope you guys like the plot twist, Midnightfluff thinks I am evil for it, which I am inclined to agree with. Next week's chapter will slightly continue the somber theme, but I will try to add in some silly so it isn't all doom and gloom. Also, I didn't realize this till Midnightfluff said this, but this is like the third or fourth chapter of just this one night D: really long day for them.**

**As usual make sure to leave a review! Let me know what you thought of the chapter, liked, hated, conspiracy theories for what you think I am going to do next, etc. Also let me know what you think of this more serious side of the story, obviously I will still have serious moments, but this is probably the most serious chapter I have had. One more thing! I hope everyone likes the progression rate of Irelia and Syndra's relationship, and I hope that I convey'd properly where I feel they are at.**

** Guest - Yep! If I have something I feel like I can reply to I will! Don't ask why I didn't start doing it earlier, because I have no clue!**

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><p>Irelia was walking back to her house with Syndra. The festival was still going on. Irelia could hear the finale of the parade going in the distance. She guessed that it was probably around midnight, which meant that the festival was coming to a close. The street was still lit up, but all the vendors were gone and with them all the people. At the end of The Harrowing every year everyone gathered in the middle of the Placidium to see fireworks. Though, at the moment this wasn't of much concern to Irelia, she couldn't stop thinking about the mercenaries.<p>

_What is their motivation?_

"Irelia?"

_Who is the woman that hired them? Why does she want us dead?_

"Irelia?"

_Where are they hiding at? Sure he said they were in the mountains, but they cover thousands of miles. Without a lead it could take us years to actually find them. The neighboring provinces may have some information, though that is a gamble. _Irelia thought to herself. Her mind was going a mile a minute with thousands of questions that had no answers to them.

Her concentration was broken when she felt someone shaking her shoulder. When Irelia finally snapped back into reality, she realized that is was Syndra who was trying to get her attention.

"Irelia?"

"Huh?" She asked, finally realizing that she had zoned out for the last ten or so minutes.

"Finally! I've been trying to get your attention for the last two minutes, but you've been staring into space the whole time."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What was it that you wanted?"

Syndra sighed, "I was trying to ask you if you wanted to watch the fireworks before we head back?"

"Hmm….I don't know."

"Aww….C'mon. Why not? What else would we do tonight?"

"We probably should get backed to Riven, see if she was able to reserve us some horses, and let her know what we learned."

"Pfft, what is she your mother? Do you have a curfew?"

Irelia unintentionally frowned slightly at the first part of Syndra's statement, "No, but it is getting late."

"Pleeeeeeeeease! It will be pretty! I mean, not as pretty as the Poros because they were just downright adorable, but they will still be good." Syndra said as she nuzzled up close to Irelia while they walked.

Irelia stiffened when Syndra made contact, _what happened to my personal space!?_

"W-w-we don't want to worry Riven." Irelia said uncomfortably

"What, do you have a curfew or something?" Syndra put her arms out questioningly

"What? Of course not."

"Well then come on!"

Irelia guessed that Syndra got tired of asking, because she grabbed Irelia's arm and started dragging her away towards where the fireworks was going to be. How Syndra knew where it was supposed to go off, Irelia didn't know. She assumed that Syndra had been to festivals before, which made Irelia ask herself:

_How many other questionable people attend these festivals?_

* * *

><p>Syndra dragged Irelia through the streets with her arms wrapped around Irelia's arm, hugging it to her chest tightly.<p>

_Sheesh, I never thought it would be this hard to convince someone to go see some fireworks. She's lucky that she's cute and I'm stubborn… _An image of Irelia's awkward response to being touched appeared in her mind. _Gah, that face that she makes when I tease her is so adorable._

Syndra looked up at Irelia, whose face was beet red.

_She's so cute when she's embarrassed. Is it bad that I get such satisfaction out of embarrassing her? Hm….Nah, probably not._

Irelia probably would have pulled her arm from Syndra if not for her grip. She let it be loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough so Irelia wouldn't try to pull away.

"W-w-w-here are we going?" Irelia stammered.

"Some place to go see the fireworks of course!" Syndra responded cheerfully as she squeezed her arm again. Irelia stiffened slightly, but then slowly let herself relax.

"Oooooh, getting cozy?" Syndra asked as she looked up at Irelia. While doing this she released one of her arms and traced her finger up and down Irelia's bicep.

"No, though I am assuming you keep doing that to see me react. So I decided not to give you the satisfaction of seeing my embarrassment." Though Irelia's words sounded confident, her tone and expression told Syndra otherwise.

_Hmm….playing hard to get? Good, I'm just starting to have fun. Now how can I up the ante? _Syndra grinned to herself as a thought crossed her mind.

Syndra moved the finger from Irelia's arm up to her face, cupping her hand against Irelia's cheek for a second before sliding her hand down to her chin bringing their faces closer to the point of where the tips of their noses were almost touching. Syndra stared into Irelia's jade eyes. Syndra was about to touch her nose to Irelia's when they heard fireworks go off in the distance.

"Shoot! The fireworks are starting we have to hurry!" Syndra pulled away and grabbed Irelia by the wrist, actually breaking out in a full on sprint this time.

After a minute or two of running they finally made it to their destination. The building was tall and made mostly of dark stone bricks, it was simple like most of the structures in Ionia. Syndra wasn't sure that the building was used for even though she would visit it annually to watch the fireworks. It also served the double purpose of being a rendezvous point for her and Zed.

"Well, we are here!" Syndra said in between taking breaths, using her legs to help support herself.

When she looked up at Irelia was perfectly composed, _what does she do that she is in such great shape? She doesn't even appear to have broken a sweat!_

"I hope you weren't planning on climbing that building. Half the fireworks would be over by the time that we got up there." Irelia commented, looking to the top of the building.

"Just…give me a minute…to catch my breath…"

Irelia leaned over putting her hand on Syndra's shoulder, "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah…I'm just…not used to running…" After a few seconds, Syndra asked herself, "Why didn't I float all the way here?"

After another minute, Syndra slowly forced herself to stand up straight. She walked in front of Irelia and put Irelia's arm around her shoulder.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Irelia asked.

_I love how she can keep her composer while being attacked and facing a jailed criminal, yet whenever I touch her she startles easier than a bunny._

Syndra smirked as she started to float herself upwards, "Hold on tight!"

"Wait what? What are you doing!?"

As soon as their feet left the ground Irelia squared off towards Syndra and tightened her grip. She had one arm wrapping around Syndra shoulder down, and the other was coming up behind Syndra's left arm and hooking onto her shoulder. Irelia's chin was laying on Syndra's shoulder, she figured that from a distance it probably would look like an awkward hug. Truthfully, Syndra easily could of levitated herself and Irelia up separately with ease, but since Syndra wasn't done teasing Irelia yet she decided to keep that little tidbit to herself. Syndra made sure to float up as slowly as she could without Irelia being suspicious, she wasn't quite sure if it was because this was probably the closest contact that she would get willingly out of Irelia or if she just wanted to mess with her. Either way Syndra was enjoying herself the whole way up, she made sure to use a bit of her magic to help make sure that Irelia wasn't in danger of falling, though not enough that she would notice.

After a minute or two of floating, they finally made it to the top of the building. At the same time, the opening set of fireworks was just finishing up. Syndra slowly eased themselves onto the roof of the building, Irelia's feet hitting the ground slightly before Syndra's. After a few seconds Syndra realized that Irelia had her eyes closed and didn't realize that they had landed yet. She pondered continuing to mess with Irelia again, but decided against it.

"Irelia? We're on the roof now, you can let go." Syndra gently pried Irelia's arms off her shoulders. As fun as it was to have Irelia cling to her, she had a strong grip that started to make her shoulder ache after a bit.

When Irelia realized what Syndra had said, she quickly let go and hid her hands behind her back, and apologized for holding on for so long.

Syndra raised an eyebrow and chuckled at her apology, "You think after all I've done to you tonight that I mind you clinging onto me?" Syndra waved her arm and started to walk towards the front of the building, "Come on, the next set of fireworks is about to start." Syndra plopped herself down on the ledge, letting her feet dangle off the edge carefree. Irelia, however, was a bit more cautious but nonetheless joined Syndra in dangling her legs off the side. Syndra was surprised that Irelia ended up sitting so close to her, she wasn't as close as a lover would be, yet she was slightly closer than people who are just friends would be.

_Wait, did all that stuff I did earlier actually have an effect or am I just imaging things?_

Irelia slowly sat herself down next to Syndra, she wasn't used to sitting on top of buildings, especially without her weapon nearby in case she needed it to catch her. Shortly after Irelia got herself comfortable, the main set of fireworks started going off as Syndra predicted and the two of them sat in silence for a while enjoying the fireworks. Syndra was the first one to break the silence between them.

"I don't even remember what my parents look like." Syndra said somberly.

"What? I'm sorry, but what brought this up?" Confusion was embedded in Irelia's voice.

"Earlier when I made the remark about Riven being your mother, you looked saddened by it…I figured that I hit a sensitive spot."

When Irelia glanced over at Syndra she was staring at the fireworks still, but the cheerful expression she had on all night was replaced with a somber one. _Whoa, she is serious. Truthfully I don't know much about her past…Every Ionian knows at least a bit about her, but there is nothing on her past._ Irelia thought over next words carefully, she wanted to avoid unintentionally hitting a sore spot.

"What…happened to them?"

"I don't know, I was taken from them when I was seven."

* * *

><p><em>It was a bright and sunny day, Syndra was outside playing games with her daddy as she did every Saturday. Their house was wooden like a lot of her friends' houses, but theirs was up on a cliff. They were still close enough to town that they could walk, but far enough away to maintain their privacy. Well, Syndra could walk there if she had Mommy or Daddy with her. Last time Syndra went to town by herself, Daddy was scolded by Mommy for letting her go alone and then Daddy talked to Syndra about it. Daddy told her that they were both grounded for a week, when Syndra asked why Daddy was grounded with her he said something about taking responsibility for your actions.<em>

_Syndra had just finished playing hide and seek tag with Mommy and Daddy. While she wasn't a fan of the tag part of it, it put a big smile on her parent's faces which was enough reason for Syndra to play. Right now Mommy and Daddy were leaning up against an apple tree, and on each other, next to their small house. They were watching Syndra practice her magic. She didn't understand why they enjoyed watching her practice so much, nor did she care. It put a smile on Mommy and Daddy's face which was good enough for her._

_Syndra summoned three golden orbs in front of her that were a little bit bigger than her hand. She put them out in front of her like a staircase and started to try and climb them one by one. Her Mommy told her to be careful, but she kept going, putting one foot on the orb at a time and putting her arms out to maintain her balance. It took her a bit but she was able to get up to the first and then the second, and after a bit of struggle she made it up to the third. After reaching the third she cheered at her success, but this caused her to lose her balance and she fell, screaming towards the ground. Syndra closed her eyes as she tensed up, waiting to hit the ground, when it never came she opened her eyes to see why. All she saw was the sky and some clouds, when she turned to look towards the ground she saw her Daddy underneath her. It wasn't until now that she realized that his hands were wrapped protectively around her._

_Her Daddy grunted as he sat himself up with Syndra still in his arms, "Are you okay?"_

_Though he wouldn't admit it, Syndra knew he had hurt himself catching her. Knowing this made Syndra sad, but she nodded anyway to answer his question._

_Her Daddy gave her a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the forehead, before saying, "Good. Now today is my turn to make lunch, can you show Mommy some more of your magic while I cook?"_

_Syndra nodded again._

_As her Daddy walked into the house, a man in bright flowing robes approached with two men lightly armored behind him. The man in the robes was about the age of Syndra's Mom-Mom, whereas the other men were about her Daddy's age. The older man's robes were white, with a thick gold lining that reminded Syndra of the golden orbs that were now floating around her upper body. This was where Syndra preferred to keep them whenever she could, but Mommy and Daddy only let her have them out at home._

"_Elder? What brings you here to our simple home?" Her mommy said with quick, but deep bow._

"_I hear you have a daughter who," When he noticed Syndra he kneeled down, "is quite the exceptional mage."_

_Syndra grabbed her Mommy's pant leg and hid behind it. She wasn't sure why but there was something about this man she didn't like._

"_With all due respect, what my daughter does in her free time is none of your concern."_

"_Hmm…but it is. You see I have great interest in people with her…talents. We could use her for the good of Ionia."_

_Her Mommy waved her hand, "Not interested. My daughter is staying right here."_

"_But I insist. You and your husband are talented individuals, and you have done great services for this country, but neither of you are mages."_

"_If we need any help, we will be sure to ask for it. Now I would appreciate it if you left my family alone while we ate lunch." Syndra flinched at her Mommy's tone. She had never heard her be so serious before. Not even when she was scolding Syndra or mad at Daddy._

_Her Mommy picked Syndra up, and the warm tone she was used to returned as she asked, "Now let's see what Daddy has prepared for lunch." Her Mommy started carrying her back towards their house._

_As they started to walk away one of the guards grabbed her mommy's free wrist, "You don't leave till the elder tells you that you can bitch!"_

_Syndra watched as he Mom pulled her wrist in as she brought her leg up and hooked it onto the back of the man's shoulder. She felt like she was falling for a second as her mom leaned forward a bit and the man rolled forward and landed on the ground, flat on his back._

"_Don't you dare use that language around my daughter!" The scary tone had returned to her Mommy's voice._

_Her Mommy didn't notice, but the other man had moved to try and strike her. Syndra saw this and put her hands out as she screamed, "No!" Syndra ended up sending out a golden pulse of magic that struck the man and sent him flying down the hill._

_She felt her Mommy straighten up again and turn towards the elder. "Now leave here, and never come back. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"_

_With this, her Mommy carried Syndra backed into the house, where they ate lunch and the rest of the day past by uneventfully. Life went by uneventfully during the next week for Syndra, at least until one morning she mysteriously woke up in the temple that would become her home for the next decade._

Irelia put a comforting arm around Syndra, pulling her close, who generously accepted the comfort. She remembered her father would do this to her when she was young and it always helped cheer her up. Surprisingly Syndra didn't try anything, no teasing, and no attempted embarrassingly close physical contact. Normally Irelia would be bothered by this sort of closeness, but she was willing to make an exception for Syndra this time. She didn't know her that well, but Irelia could guess that Syndra didn't open up to people often.

"So how did you end up in the temple?" Irelia asked

"I…don't actually know. It is all very vague, the only thing I can gather is that I was probably kidnapped…"

_Why would they kidnap her? That seems very out of character for an elder to do…_ Syndra looked down at Syndra, _she isn't lying though. No, her voice has too much pain in it for that. That may explain why so little is documented of her past…but who would do such a thing?_

"Hey Irelia?" Syndra asked in a low voice.

"Yeah"

"Can you….not tell anyone about this? I…haven't actually told anyone about my past before."

"Not even Zed?"

* * *

><p>Zed looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was the color of onyx with a hint of gray. While he wasn't nearly old enough for his hair to gray naturally, at 28, the stress from his job brought on the premature graying. His eyes were a deep red, and had scars covering a good portion of his body across his muscles. He had just gotten out of the shower, and for some reason had decided to look at himself in the mirror. With only a towel covering a small portion of his body, all his scars were in plain sight, staring back at him. Each one held a different story, he traced a scar that lined his cheek, he wasn't sure why but for some reason this caught his attention as memories flooded into his mind of that night a little over a decade ago.<p>

_Zed stood with a client as they explained what his job was. He was to kidnap a young female mage that lived with her parents. Zed had recently been banished from the Kinkou order for looking at the box and using it to defeat Shen. Personally he would have rather declined it since he felt the job was beneath him, but he desperately needed funds and the money was a lot for how simple the task was. This aspect worried Zed a bit since it usually denoted that the client was withholding information, but he figured he could handle it. If this was a normal job, he would have pressed the man about the lack of information, but since it was an Ionian Official he decided to hold his tongue._

"If only I knew…" Zed said to himself as the next part of the memory flooded into his brain, more quickly than he would have cared for.

_Zed was in the room of the female mage he was supposed to kidnap, standing over her while she slept peacefully in her bed. Zed cursed to himself mentally, the client didn't tell him that the mage was only a child. Had he known that, he would have declined the job instantly regardless of the money. He knew better than anyone how tough it was to grow up without parents. However, he was honor bound to complete the job. Though that didn't mean he wouldn't have some choice words for the client when he was done. Zed took out a powder from his pocket and sprinkled it lightly over the girls head. He was told that it would make sure that the girl wouldn't wake up on his way to the temple he was supposed to drop the girl off at._

_**Getting cold feet?**_ _A voice in his head asked. He wasn't sure where it came from, but recently a voice that wasn't his own appeared in his mind. It was…unsettling to say the least._

_As Zed leaned forward to pick up the girl from her bed an object flew across his face, cutting him along his cheek._

_Zed turned to see a woman standing in the doorway with shurikens in her hand. He could swear that he could see a thoroughly pissed off expression on her face through the darkness, but he wasn't sure. Both of them stood there, neither of them moving, uncertain of what the other would do if they did._

"_How did you know I was here?" He asked the woman in the doorway._

"_Wasn't that shuriken to the face enough? Well if it wasn't then it is because I used to be one of you, well before I retired." The tone of her voice was very pointed, though given the situation Zed couldn't blame her._

"_Interesting…Well I don't belong to the Kinkou order anymore."_

"_No matter, I would appreciate it if you would step away from my daughter."_

"_I cannot do that, I am contracted to acquire her for a client."_

_The tension in the air was thick as the two stared at each other. Zed wasn't quite sure how he was going to get out, if she truly was a former ninja like she claims then he wouldn't be able to outrun her. She had age on him so while he may be able to equal or surpass her in strength, he had to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was more skilled. Though he did have two advantages, it made him sick thinking about it, but he was closer to the girl than she was. Zed normally wouldn't stoop so low, but this mission kept getting sketchier and sketchier. He needed to complete it before anything else turned up. The second advantage he had was he had his equipment, whereas the woman was still in her night clothes equipped only with two more shurikens._

_As quickly as he could, Zed snatched up the little girl from the bed. The woman in front of him cocked her arm like she was going to throw another shuriken but stopped when she realized her daughter was in danger._

"_Please…don't do this. Just put her down, I'll let you leave like nothing happened and won't tell anyone about tonight." Her voice now was pleading._

_Zed cursed to himself, the tone of the woman's voice unsettling him internally. He wished he could do as she said, go home and act like tonight was just a bad dream, unfortunately it was too late for that. Zed took a deep breath, one more move and he would be able to get out._

_Zed quickly reached down, grabbed the bola on his belt, threw it at the woman and jumped out the window next to the girl's bed before even looking to see if the bola landed. As Zed ran off he heard a scream piece the night that chilled him to the bone, one that he would never be able to forget, nor forgive himself for causing. Not only did he just steal that woman's only child, but he was now going to put this little girl through growing up without her parents, just like he did. No, worse than him, he never knew his parents so not having them was easier for him, she was going to have to deal with the loss of her parents as well. Zed wasn't sure how, but he swore to himself that not only would he never do this again, but that he would find a way to make it up to this girl._

* * *

><p>"Syndra." When Syndra didn't respond, Irelia looked down at her only to find out that she had fallen asleep. The fireworks had just ended and Irelia was going to say that they should get going.<p>

_Guess I'll have to carry her back…_ Irelia thought to herself, she didn't mind since Syndra was relatively light. Until another thought crossed her mind, _how are we supposed to get down from here? _Irelia shook Syndra trying to wake her up, the only response she got was Syndra wrapping her arms tightly around her. Irelia sighed to herself, _I'm going to have to carry her the whole way back aren't I?_

It didn't take Irelia long to get to the bottom of the building, luckily it was a public building so it was unlocked for the most part, and the parts that were locked had one way doors so that someone could exit without the janitors having to stay around all night waiting for people to leave. As Irelia walked backed to her house carrying Syndra, she reflected on everything that had happened tonight. If she had told herself that she would have met The Dark Sovereign a day ago, she probably wouldn't have believed herself. On top of that, that was carrying her back to her house and not into a prison cell. Truthfully Irelia didn't know why she never bothered to arrest Syndra, she certainly had enough crimes to justify it. Though Irelia had a hard time thinking that the woman in her arms was the same Dark Sovereign that the government told every about. Maybe it was Syndra helping her on two different occasions, maybe it was because she looked so much like the woman in her dreams. It could be that Irelia actually liked Syndra hitting on her, probably not, or something completely different that Irelia couldn't comprehend yet. Whatever the reason was it confused Irelia, but in a way that for some reason she didn't mind.

As Irelia walked up the sidewalk to her house, a sense of relief filled her that she was finally going to be able to go to bed. She wasn't sure where she was going to put Syndra, she sure wasn't going home tonight that was for sure, but for now she couldn't wait to go inside and enjoy the coziness of her home. Irelia fiddled with the door, upon opening it she almost dropped Syndra as she was greeted with almost everything inside of her house being obliterated into tiny pieces.

"What the…..what happened here?" Irelia mumbled to herself, before another thought crossed her mind, "Riven! Riven are you here!?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: One more thing! Explanation for Syndra's backstory and why I did it the way I did. Whenever I see backstories for Syndra she always has a tragic life with her parents and then leaves. To me whenever I read that it seems like her getting taken away from her parents is ultimately a good thing, as horrible as that sounds. So I decided to make her backstory happy and give her a normal childhood, that way the affect of her losing her parents is greater. That and she has beenn through so much, give her a break and let her have a happy childhood, well aside from being taken away and such. Also, hooray for swapped gender roles for Syndra's parents!**


	11. Restless Night

**A/N: **** Guest: But cliffhangers are how we keep you coming back! I mean, nothing! Carry on, you saw nothing! Thank you for the weekly reviews by the way, always nice to hear from you.**

** epicxxfantasy2: Eventually she will find out, it is just a matter of when she does. Her reaction will vary greatly depending on which section of the story she learns the truth. I'm sure that you could write a story just as good, as you write you get better and ideas come easier. Thank you for your kind words though :D**

**Finally! Harrowing night is officially over! Sorry for having two serious style chapters twice in a row like that, I will try to mix in a little more light hearted stuff in the future with the serious. Chapter 10 and 11 actually were off of one idea that just kept expanding until...BAM two chapters, so that is why they are both so serious.**

**As always remember to leave me a review, or send me a message. I love to hear from you guys!**

* * *

><p>As Irelia walked into her house she turned on one of the lights near the doorway to get a better view. When the light shined on she saw most of her furniture was destroyed, like it had been smashed with a heavy object. After closing the door behind her she put Syndra down in the entryway, whose response to the light was to merely curl further up into a ball and cover her eyes. She glanced into her living room making sure that no one was in there. When she didn't see anyone she opened up a false floorboard and took out a box containing a tantō, glancing up every few seconds making sure that no one snuck up on her.<p>

Irelia looked back at Syndra debating whether she should wake her up. S_omething tells me waking her up will cause more problems than it will solve…_ After an image of Syndra blowing a hole in her wall by the surprise of being woken up crossed her mind Irelia assured herself leaving her was the best course of action.

Irelia walked from the entryway into the living room and kitchen area. The kitchen seemed mostly untouched aside from the table and chairs, but almost everything in the living room was destroyed. Irelia quickly inspected the destruction, starting with the couch, moving to the coffee table, then the kitchen table. All the destruction appeared to be from the same type of weapon, whatever the weapon was it was definitely large. Irelia moved on from the living room and headed towards the bedrooms, skipping the training area outside since there was little to destruction in that direction.

As Irelia moved through her house she kept the knife in her left hand forward, and her other hand up across her body protecting her neck. She didn't think that there was much her hand alone could do to protect her neck against whatever was used destroy her living room; but it was a habit drilled into her long ago by her father. It was hard to see as the only light source was the moon coming through the window and the light from the living room.

Irelia slowly strafed through the dark hallway. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed a table near her father's study was crumbled and the door to the study was smashed in. She stepped around a broken plant pot as she opened up the door to her father's study. She peeked her head in, squinting her eyes to try and see. Irelia was relieved when she saw that the only thing damaged in the room was the door.

_Thank the stars, Dad's study is still intact. That just raises more questions though…what happened here? It couldn't be a burglary, nothing is missing. There is no blood, torn clothing, or sign of anyone exiting, so an attack is unlikely. If not an attack, or robbery what options does that even leave?_

She continued down the hallway and up the stairs and around the corner to where the bedrooms were located. Irelia closed her eyes as she turned on the second floor hallway light. After her eyes adjusted to the new brightness she surveyed the hallway. Zelos' room and the bathroom on the right were still closed, same with her dad's room directly in front of her. The paintings of scenery on that side of the wall were all crooked, like someone had bumped into them. On the left her room was closed as well, but the guest room that Riven had been stayed in was wide open. The family pictures on the left side of the wall were all still upright and intact. Whatever had disturbed the other paintings clearly didn't bother touching those. She ran up tantō in hand and peered in, not sure what she would find.

Irelia gasped as she peered into the room, "Riven!"

Riven was in the corner of her room in her pajamas on her hands and knees as Irelia ran up to her. Her arms were covered with dried blood, but that was her only physical injury. However, she was drenched in sweat, her skin was pale, and she was breathing heavily, with her eyes wide open and her sword on the floor under her hand.

"They betrayed us…How could they abandon us like that…" Riven mumbled

"What? Who betrayed you? Are you okay?" Irelia asked as she put her hand on Riven's head, "Oh my! You're burning up! We have to get you to a hospital." She wrapped Riven's arm around her shoulder so she could support Riven as she tried to walk her to the hospital. They barely made it out of the room before Riven collapsed on the ground coughing, her hand switching between clutching her chest and throat.

"What happened to you…?" Irelia asked rhetorically.

Irelia tried to pick her up again, but Riven barely budged. She cursed to herself internally, _This is getting me nowhere fast… There is no good options here…_

Irelia ran down the stairs and bolted out her front door, not even questioning leaving Syndra and Riven there by themselves. She bolted down her driveway, through the streets, past the gardens, and the Placidium before finally making it to the hospital and bolting past the receptionist towards the doctor offices.

_Where is her room again? _She thought as she ran through the doctors quarters; _135, no, 137, no, 139, no, 141, ah ha!_

Irelia threw the door open, almost slamming it on accident and ran into the room. When she got into the room she tried to speak but she was too tired from all the running to properly express herself. Instead her hands ended up on her knees in order to keep herself from falling over. The doctor wore a standard white coat with light blue scrubs underneath, which was much different than the yellow dress Irelia was used to seeing her in.

The doctor in the corner of the room swiveled around to face her visitor, "Irelia? What brings you here?"

Irelia tried to speak in-between panting for breathe, "Need…help…Riven's…hurt"

"Wait, what? How bad? Never mind, let me grab some things and we can go." The doctor walked over to the far side of the room, grabbed a bag out of the closet and started filling it with various medical supplies. After about a minute she had finished, "Alright, let's go."

Irelia merely nodded her head, still not fully recovered from her trip here, but too stubborn to ask that they wait a little bit before leaving.

* * *

><p>Riven looked around, her head pounding, unsure where she was. The area around her was dark, the only light sources that she could see were some faint torches.<p>

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Riven called out to the darkness.

When no one answered she started to explore, after stumbling around for a few minutes she found a hallway. It appeared to be made out a dark wood, much like the room that she woke up in. She walked through twists and turns for a few minutes, exploring a few rooms on her way, hoping to find an exit or clue as to where she was. Eventually she came to an open room that had a throne that was centered in the back of the room. Sitting atop the throne was a figure obscured by the darkness, the figures clothing made it appear as if they devoid of any color except for some greys.

**_"Ah, the sleeping beauty is awake. I've been expecting you." _**The figure commented.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Riven questioned.

**_"Who I am and where we are aren't important my dear, what's important is the why."_**

"Which is?"

**_"Well…I understand that you have certain goals in mind. Goals that are currently well out of your reach, I would like to help you achieve them."_**

"What do you know about me and my desires?" Riven asked, slightly annoyed at the vagueness of the strange being.

**_"Hm…I know you are a Noxian in Ionia. I know that you want to take revenge on Noxus. And I know that you require more power to do so."_**

_Hmm…Isn't that what I told the Ionian officials my reasons for being here? He did some research I will give him that._

"Okay, I'll humor you, how are you going to help me?"

**_The figure hummed, "Good, now we can get somewhere. I have…magic you see and my…magic…will drastically increase your strength. All you have to do-"_**

Riven raised her hand, "Not interested." Even though Riven couldn't see the figures face, she could tell by their body language that her statement surprised them.

**_"Now why is that? You didn't even let me finish."_**

"My goal is to rebuild Noxus back to its former glory, and I am going to do it with my own bare hands. I don't need your 'magic' to help me."

**_"That's a shame…and I was just beginning to like you too. No matter, if you ever change your mind, my offer still stands. Time runs short for us anyway, so you must be off."_**

With that the figure snapped their fingers, and suddenly everything around Riven grew dark once more.

* * *

><p>"She's up here!" Irelia said as she rushed into her house, with the doctor closely behind her.<p>

"By the stars, I can see why you were so worried. This place is completely destroyed!"

Irelia sighed, "Yeah, I don't need a reminder…"

The doctor apologized, following closely behind Irelia to the second floor. When they got the second floor, Riven was still in the hallway where Irelia had left her. Except instead of being on her hands and knees she was now laying on her back, halfway asleep.

The doctor examined Riven's arms and legs, "It doesn't look too bad. She probably has about a hundred splinters in her, but nothing too serious. What happened to her?"

"Actually I am not sure. I was hoping you would be able to tell me. I examined everything downstairs, it looked as if it was done by one person. When I tried to ask her she just mumbled."

"Odd." The doctor responded, though it sounded like she was saying it more to herself than Irelia. "I'm going to have to remove the bandages on her arms to get the splinters out, is that okay?"

"Yeah, let me help you." Irelia started trying to take the bandages off Riven's left arm as the doctor worked on the right. As she got the bandage loose enough that she could start unraveling it a thought crossed her mind, _now that I think about it, Riven always has these bandages on her arms. I wonder why?_

Irelia gasped as she began taking the bandage off, the answer to her question staring her straight in the face. Riven's arms were completely scarred from something, what that something was Irelia didn't know. What she did know was that no normal weapon had caused it. The scar covered the entirety of her arm from above her wrist up to a little below her shoulder.

"What…caused this?" Irelia asked.

"I…don't quite know. They appear to be some sort of chemical burn. Where she got them I have no idea." The doctor responded, starting to clean the blood off of Riven's arms. Once she had finished that she began working on taking the splinters out of Riven's arms.

The next few minutes went by uneventfully as the doctor slowly removed all the splinters, not moving on to a new spot of Riven's body till she was sure that she got them all. It took longer than Irelia cared to admit, but she noticed that Riven had woken.

"Riven, you woke up!" Irelia said with a sense of relief.

Riven nodded her head. Her face being a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and confusion.

"So…what happened?" Irelia asked.

"Nothing…." Riven responded.

"You are covered in blood, and have hundreds of splinters in your body! I don't call that nothing!"

"I…uh…don't want to talk about it right now."

Irelia glared at Riven, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, "My entire downstairs hallway, living room, and half my upstairs is demolished. I think I deserve an explanation for that."

Riven started to try and come up with an excuse, but Irelia kept glaring at her. After a minute she sighed, giving into Irelia's demand, "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

* * *

><p><em>"Commander!" A soldier announced as he ran up to the tree Riven was sitting in.<em>

_Riven jumped down from the tree and the soldier saluted her as she straightened herself. Riven never got a chance to see trees when she was in the streets of Noxus growing, let alone climb them. Every time she got a chance she would climb a tree and enjoy the view, not only for the tactical advantage of being able to survey the land, but also because it relaxed her._

_"What is it soldier?" Riven said firmly, her arms behind her back and shoulders squared._

_The soldier extended a parchment out to Riven, "We just received this message from High Command."_

_Riven opened up the letter, glancing over what appeared to be her new orders. Originally Fury Company was tasked with the eradication of Ionia's temples and monasteries. Noxus high command hoped that this would help force the Ionians into a surrender in defense of their culture. They could not have been more wrong. Even though the Ionians were severely outnumbered, they still fought to the last breath with honor no matter the odds. Riven respected that about the Ionians, they were warriors through and through. Riven's new orders for Fury Company was to clear out a pathway for the melters, Noxus' new toy weapon from Zaun. Truthfully, Riven hated the melters. There was no honor in defeating your opponent when they cannot fight back. How was Noxus supposed to prove that they were stronger if they won through such underhanded means? Riven was starting to question whether Noxus actually deserved to win this war. If not for the melters, the Zaunite's that had been hired, and the Ionians being so severely outnumbered they probably would have fought off Noxus months ago. The melters were what bothered Riven the most, just being in the company of one made her feel sick, figuratively and literally. This wasn't the glorious combat that Riven had hoped and trained so long for, nor did she feel this method was truly Noxian._

_"Tell Fury Company we are moving out as of ten minutes ago!" Riven barked. One of the downfalls of being a commander was that she felt the need to keep herself emotional distant from her soldiers. Not because she didn't want to get to know them, but because she wanted them to fear and respect her._

_"Yes Ma'am!" The soldier ran off towards the camp._

_Riven grabbed her armor, broadsword, and sword glove. The broadsword and glove were gifts from Noxus when she earned her Commander rank. Her weapon was infused with magic and the glove allowed someone like her, who had no affinity for magic, to access the swords magic._

_Riven waited a few minutes before making her way back to the main camp where her soldiers were waiting. When she got there they were all lined in formation, prepared to march on her command._

_'Good' Riven thought to herself._

_Riven marched at the head of fury company, some commanders stayed in the backline ordering their soldiers around from the safety of the backline. Not Riven though, there was nowhere else that she would rather be than at the head of the company and in the thick of combat. How could her men respect her if she wasn't there by their side?_

_As Fury Company marched through the Coeur Valley an eerie fog started to roll in. Throughout the valley, barely visible underneath the fog, Riven noticed all the soldiers lying on the ground. While looking at the uniforms as they passed by, Riven noticed a staggering amount of Ionian soldiers compared to Noxian. This bothered Riven, the Ionians never lost this decisively. She had heard that it was a surprise attack on the Ionians, but looking at the amount of bodies told a completely different story. Things weren't adding up for some reason._

_Riven's concentration was interrupted by when she noticed a girl wondering in the mist, seemingly confused and distraught. As Riven noticed the girl, she raised her sword signaling Fury Company to halt. Then she pointed to two soldiers and motioned for them to get the girl. While at first they seemed eager to obey, as they closed in on the girl they both slowed down, realizing that neither one of them wanted to take the lead. When one of them finally made a move; the girl's body language changed from distressed to anger as she screamed, unveiling a hidden dagger dropping both soldiers in front of her in one swift motion and running off into the mist. The soldiers that appeared to be dead on the ground rising up again, very much alive._

_Riven cursed to herself as she finally realized why the report she received was incorrect, "AMBUSH!"_

_'How long have they been lying there next to their allies?' Riven thought to herself._

_"Standard defensive formation!" Riven yelled, trying to get her troops to organize. Her efforts were in vain though as her voice was drowned out by the sound of clashing metal and screams. Every time Riven cut down a soldier, there was two more to take their place. Her forces numbers were dwindling quickly in the chaos, with no end to the Ionians forces in sight. Realizing that they were going to lose this battle, Riven drew her distress flare and fired it into the air. The green light covering the sky above them, illuminating the battlefield._

_'I may die here, but I'm going to take as many of you with me as I can' Riven thought. If it was her time to die then it was her time. She would be bested by someone better than her, this fit into the Noxian ideals that 'only the strong survive.'_

_Riven thought she could feel her end draw near as the number of allies around her dwindled, but she was mistaken when a ball of light came crashing down at the front of the battlefield. The ball exploded, deafening and disorienting everyone on the battlefield. A mysterious gas erupting from the ball, it took Riven only a second to figure out what had happened, and the answer was more than Riven could bear._

_'They opened fire…on us…their own soldiers. What honor was there in winning this way? They didn't even get the glorious death from combat that all Noxians hoped for.'_

_Riven's limbs and lungs burned as she ran out charged her way out of the battlefield. Before she would have been disgusted with the idea of fleeing a battle, but now she didn't know what to feel. The only thing she knew was that was not the way that she wanted to die…_

* * *

><p>"Shortly after that was when I shattered my sword..." Riven finished.<p>

"That is…horrible…how could they do that to you guys? I know it was war….but to fire on their own soldiers like that seems low, even for Noxus." Irelia said emotionally.

Irelia felt Riven cast her a split second glare, then her face relaxed into a more understanding one.

The doctor shifted, convinced she had all of the splinters out. "It sounds like you are dealing with PTSD, otherwise known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is common in war veterans like yourself, the fact that you have kept it under wraps for so long is fairly impressive."

Neither Irelia nor Riven needed an explanation for what PTSD was. They both knew about it all too well, almost anyone involved with war had dealt with it, or at least known someone who has. Irelia was impressed that up until now, Riven hadn't shown any signs of it.

The doctor continued, "I'm guessing that it was the fireworks that brought it on?"

Riven glanced off to the side, but nodded her head.

"Come see me two days from now, you have dealt with it well until now but this isn't going to go away. I also may be able to give you something to help with your arms, I don't know if the scars will go away, but it should help a little bit."

"Thank you, I'm sorry for calling you here on such short notice." Irelia said as she gave a bow.

"Any time, just make sure that she gets to see me. Okay?"

Irelia glanced back at Riven, "Don't worry, I will."

Riven looked off to the side again, "For such passive people, you Ionian's sure are assertive."

As Irelia walked down the stairs with the doctor, she noticed Riven going back into her bedroom. As they walked downstairs towards the door, Syndra got up with a half asleep expression on her face.

Syndra rubbed her eyes trying to wake up as she walked towards Irelia, and when she saw the doctor she rubbed them even more. "Irelia…? Why is there a purple unicorn in your house?" Syndra asked confused.

"Syndra! Be nice, this is Soraka. She is a highly respected healer here in Ionia!"

"It's okay Irelia." Soraka responded before turning to Syndra uncomfortably, "Syndra, what are you doing here?!"

"And who are you to me and why should I tell you?" Syndra remarked, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you wouldn't recognize me this way." The doctor responded with a worried smile.

"Whatever" Syndra huffed before changing her expression to a cute and cuddly one, "Irelia? Can I sleep here tonight? My fortress is soooo far away and it's really late at night."

"Yeah, sure. Bedrooms are on the second floor." Irelia responded without thinking, her mind racing a mile a minute of how she would make this up to Soraka. With that Syndra left without another word.

Irelia turned to Soraka bowing her head, "I'm so sorry! I had no idea that she would say that!" A few seconds later she mumbled to herself, "or that she would even be here for that matter."

"It's okay really. I really must be off Irelia, I would love to stay and chat, but it is 3am and you are going to have a lot of cleaning up to do later. Catch up soon?" Soraka asked.

Irelia gave her a hug before seeing Soraka off, "Of course."

Once Soraka had left and Irelia turned around seeing the destruction before her, had she finally realized the latter half of what Soraka had said. Irelia sighed and made her way upstairs, too tired to start cleaning up now. Irelia got her pajama's on and crashed in her bed. As Irelia was about to fall asleep she felt something move next to her, after a moment Irelia's eyes shot wide open when she realized that Syndra was sleeping next to her. Sighing, Irelia got out of her bed, went into the hall closet and grabbed a spare mattress that for some reason was in there, and laid it next to her bed. After that she went back and grabbed some blankets, placing them on her side of the bed. Then she pushed Syndra off the bed, throwing the blankets down onto her as she landed. After that Irelia once again collapsed onto her bed, finally able to fall asleep.


End file.
